Opportunities and limits of wastewater-based epidemiology for tracking global health and attainment of UN sustainable development goals.

ABSTRACT: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) emerged as a powerful, actionable health management tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesizing future uses, we explored its potential for real-time, tracking of progress in attaining United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally as a non-expensive method using existing infrastructure. We inventoried (i) literature-documented sewerage infrastructure, (ii) demographics of populations served, and (iii) WBE markers informative of 9 SDGs. Among the 17 different sustainable development goals listed by the UN 2030 agenda, more than half of these may be monitored by using WBE monitoring at centralized treatment infrastructure as tabulated in this study. Driven mainly by COVID-19, WBE currently is practiced in at least 55 countries, reaching

SUBMITTER: Adhikari S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9815123 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature