ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEILLANCE FOR MULTI-PATHOGENS

Background

Environmental surveillance has been identified as a low-cost approach to enhancing surveillance through complementing syndromic-based surveillance.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) which involves the use of wastewater to understand public health issues through molecular testing offers a scalable and cost-effective tool for the detection and characterization of priority pathogens infecting humans living in, or travelling to, environmental surveillance catchment populations. WBE has been shown to complement syndromic surveillance in providing early warning signals for detection of outbreaks (example SARS-CoV-2 and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)) and monitoring of thresholds of pathogens including antimicrobial resistance genes. These pathogens of interest to the study are Polio, Vibrio cholerae, Salmonella Typhi and Measles.  

Aim

The aim of this collaborative project is to conduct a pilot implementation of a national wastewater-based surveillance for multi-pathogens in Ghana.

Objective

1. Develop a strategic framework for implementation and integration of wastewater-based surveillance for multiple pathogens in the IDSR.
2. Identify and map out potential sites for environmental surveillance of priority pathogens of public health importance
3. Conduct wastewater-based surveillance for detection of multiple priority pathogens of public health relevance.
4. Build capacity of laboratory scientists, public health laboratories (PHLs) and public health practitioners in wastewater-based epidemiology and testing of priority pathogens of public health importance. 
5. Establish and build capacity for modelling and data management and analytics of WES

Funding Partners:  Gates Foundation