USA: Study examines how the last two respiratory pandemics rapidly spread through cities

“The rapid and uncertain spread of the 2009 H1N1 flu and 2020 COVID-19 pandemics underscores the challenges for timely detection and control. Expanding wastewater surveillance coverage coupled with effective infection control could potentially slow the initial spread of future pandemics,” says the study’s senior author, Sen Pei, PhD, Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at Columbia’s Mailman School. Many studies have pointed to the benefits of wastewater surveillance programs. The new study further underscores the benefit of expanding wastewater surveillance for pandemic preparedness.