Verily reposted this
Chief Medical & Scientific Officer advancing precision health @ Verily, an Alphabet company | ex-Apple, Gates Foundation
The early warning system facilitated by wastewater testing proves invaluable in monitoring emerging pathogens, particularly in situations where clinical surveillance or active testing for a specific virus may be limited. We saw this recently come to life with the emergence of H5N1 and the Verily team’s development of an assay to detect H5 in wastewater samples. In a recent article, Megan Diamond discusses the public health opportunities of wastewater surveillance amid the H5N1 outbreak, emphasizing the effectiveness of this tool and the opportunities for the data to inform public health response. I continue to be encouraged by the continued investment we’re seeing in this space from organizations across both the public and private sector.