AI-assisted monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens using wastewater-based epidemiology

Short description of the project

Although the COVID-19 pandemic cooled down over the past months, it is still important to monitor the viral spread and evolution to detect the spread of a novel viral variant early and initiate outbreak response in time. However, with decreasing clinical sampling, the data basis for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring becomes less sufficient and representative for the population. Wastewater samples allow us to read genomic information of SARS-CoV-2 and can yield a representative overview on the viral loads and circulating viral variants earlier than patient samples. Artificial intelligence can help us to correct the skewing impact of environmental factors on wastewater data and to identify signals of unknown viral variants. Moreover, we want to combine wastewater-based observations with epidemiological data to comprehensively support the public health service in its evaluation and decision making. Finally, we aim at extending the methods and insights from SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based monitoring to other pathogens.

The project addresses the following “Essential Public Health Functions” (EPHS):

• #1: Assess and monitor population health status, factors that influence health, and community needs and assets.
  The overarching goal is to record and continuously monitor the infection situation of the population from wastewater data.
• #2: Investigate, diagnose, and address health problems and hazards affecting the population.
  In particular, newly emerging and potentially more contagious or health-endangering virus variants should be identified at an early stage.
• #5: Create, champion, and implement policies, plans, and laws that impact health.
  The findings of the wastewater monitoring should ultimately serve as a data basis for the development of measures to protect the health of the population.

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