Status of environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 virus

Overview

Environmental surveillance by testing of wastewater for evidence of pathogens has a long history of use in public health, particularly for poliovirus and more recently antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is being used for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 shed into wastewater from the upper gastrointestinal and upper respiratory system and via faeces.