https://phys.org/news/2018-05-municipal-wastewater-track-diseases-uh.html

The results proved that municipal wastewater can be used as a microbial surveillance platform for infectious diseases in a community, paving the way for rapid and comprehensive disease tracking, including gastrointestinal infectious diseases. Efforts are also underway to expand the research to cover other types of pathogens (including viruses and protozoa) and antibiotic resistance.

"Although a lot of research and development work is still needed, this shows that wastewater-based infectious disease surveillance is feasible and can provide a new set of tools to protect human health," said Yan. "Ultimately, I would like to see a global network of wastewater infrastructures that work in sync to detect and track the occurrence and transmission of infectious diseases."

                                                            
                                    
                                    Explore further: