DSCI 490 Capstone Fall 2024

One Health is a recognition of the shared environment inhabited by humans, animals and plants, and the impact of their interactions on the health of all organisms. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for a framework of pathogen surveillance in a tractable One Health paradigm to allow timely detection and response to threats to human and animal health. We present case studies centered around the recent global approach to tackle antimicrobial resistance and the current interest in wastewater testing, with the concept of “one sample many analyses” to be further explored as the most appropriate means of initiating this endeavor. There is growing recognition of the need for a One Health approach for coordinated management of disease threats affecting humans, animals, and the environment. In this Perspective, the authors discuss a roadmap for a One Health disease surveillance system focusing on the example of wastewater surveillance.

Researchers are setting up a new project in Iqaluit to see whether measuring the levels of tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in wastewater from buildings can help in the fight against the disease and save lives. TB is a bacterial infection that can be fatal, and it spreads through the air. While there are treatment and prevention efforts in place, it continues to circulate in Nunavut. Since 2021, outbreaks have been declared in three of the communities: Pangnirtung, Pond Inlet and Naujaat.

There are many ways to get information on a person’s health when someone is unwell, a doctor may ask them to collect a sample of their poop (called a stool sample). Poop or stool can provide a lot of information as it can contain some infectious pathogens, medications or drugs. Testing the community’s wastewater (water from toilets and sinks in households and businesses) for bacteria and viruses can provide a lot of information about the health of a community.

https://health-infobase.canada.ca/substance-related-harms/opioids-stimulants/maps

The article reports that Washington State University scientists recommends investing in a national wastewater testing system for infectious diseases, which can track multiple pathogens and pivot to detect emerging pathogens, with predictable funding for expansions of data collection and access.