A survey of the representativeness and usefulness of wastewater-based surveillance systems in 10 countries across Europe in 2023

Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has become a widespread method to monitor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other human pathogens in Europe. We conducted a survey about WBS systems' objectives, approaches, representativeness and usefulness in 10 invited European countries in 2023, i.e. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway. All countries completed the study questionnaire about their SARS-CoV-2 WBS systems, and shared information about WBS of other pathogens as deemed relevant. SARS-CoV-2 WBS systems primarily monitored national and subnational trends (population coverage: 25-99%), and a majority (8/10) also tracked variant distribution. Nine of 10 countries reported that their SARS-CoV-2 WBS systems were representative of their population and all countries remarked that the findings were valuable for public health decision-making. Results were shared with relevant public health authorities and published via dedicated websites and/or dashboards. WBS systems of other pathogens were mostly in the early stages, with some countries implementing pilots. Notable exceptions were the well-established poliovirus surveillance systems in Finland, Italy and the Netherlands. This study brings understanding the diverse landscape of WBS in Europe, offering insights for future developments and collaborations. Furthermore, it highlights the need for further integration of WBS into other European surveillance systems.

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Publication Details

Journal
Eurosurveillance
Published
2024-08-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.es.2024.29.33.2400096
Citations
8
Primary Topic
SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
3.11

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article

A survey of the representativeness and usefulness of wastewater-based surveillance systems in 10 countries across Europe in 2023

Guido Benedetti, Giuseppina La Rosa, Steen Ethelberg, Hans Peter Stüger et al.
8 citations
Eurosurveillance
SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
3.11
article

A survey of the representativeness and usefulness of wastewater-based surveillance systems in 10 countries across Europe in 2023

Guido Benedetti, Giuseppina La Rosa, Steen Ethelberg, Hans Peter Stüger, Anastasia Koutsolioutsou, Rudolf F.H.J. van der Beek, Eszter Róka, Elisabeth Henie Madslien, Tarja Pitkänen, Henry‐Michel Cauchie, Lene Wulff Krogsgaard, Sabine Maritschnik, Márta Vargha, Veronik Hutse, Leslie Ogorzaly, Raphaël Janssens, Willemijn J. Lodder, Soile Blomqvist, Jose Antonio Baz‐Lomba, Elisabetta Suffredini
article en
8 citations

Abstract

Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has become a widespread method to monitor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other human pathogens in Europe. We conducted a survey about WBS systems' objectives, approaches, representativeness and usefulness in 10 invited European countries in 2023, i.e. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Norway. All countries completed the study questionnaire about their SARS-CoV-2 WBS systems, and shared information about WBS of other pathogens as deemed relevant. SARS-CoV-2 WBS systems primarily monitored national and subnational trends (population coverage: 25-99%), and a majority (8/10) also tracked variant distribution. Nine of 10 countries reported that their SARS-CoV-2 WBS systems were representative of their population and all countries remarked that the findings were valuable for public health decision-making. Results were shared with relevant public health authorities and published via dedicated websites and/or dashboards. WBS systems of other pathogens were mostly in the early stages, with some countries implementing pilots. Notable exceptions were the well-established poliovirus surveillance systems in Finland, Italy and the Netherlands. This study brings understanding the diverse landscape of WBS in Europe, offering insights for future developments and collaborations. Furthermore, it highlights the need for further integration of WBS into other European surveillance systems.

EurosurveillanceVol. 29(33)
Statens Serum Institut (DK), University of Copenhagen (DK), Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NO), University of Helsinki (FI), Istituto Superiore di Sanità (IT), Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (FI), National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (NL), Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LU), Sciensano (Belgium) (BE), National Public Health Organization (GR), Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AT)
University of Patras, European Commission, University of Crete, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, University of Ioannina, Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu, Statens Serum Institut, Norwegian Institute of Public Health
Openalex Percentile: Top 8%
SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
3.11
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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