HOUSTON – Mother of three Ebony London prioritizes her children’s health, focusing on balanced meals and vitamins. This approach is especially crucial for her son, RJ.
“RJ is a two-time survivor of rhabdomyosarcoma,” London said. “He’s still on oral chemo, and so his immune system can be up and down. It’s really good for me to know what’s out there so that we can take the necessary precautions to keep him healthy.”
A wastewater surveillance program led by the City of Houston and Rice University aims to provide parents like London with early warnings about viruses circulating in the community to help keep children healthy and in school.
“You can’t live in a bubble, and so it’s important for us to know what’s out there and for others to know it’s out there and take the precautions to prevent a massive spread,” London said.
The partnership began during the COVID-19 pandemic to anticipate large outbreaks. After the pandemic, the program continued and expanded.
“It allows for early detection of emerging threats in our community,” said Lauren Stadler, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University.
Stadler explained, “When someone’s infected with a disease, they actually shed some of the disease, the particles of that disease into the wastewater, and that happens because either you excrete it through urine or feces, but also you cough and you spit, or you take a shower and all those things end up down the drain.”
More than 100 wastewater collection sites across Houston participate in the program, including treatment plants, the county jail, nursing homes, homeless shelters, and 47 schools in the Houston Independent School District.
While the program mainly tests for SARS-CoV-2, flu, and RSV, it can detect 29 different pathogens and certain bacteria as needed. For example, it helped confirm that recent measles cases in Houston were isolated and travel-related, not part of a larger outbreak.
“The whole program is about monitoring health and viruses so that people can take precautions to protect themselves and keep themselves well,” said Loren Hopkins, PhD, chief environmental science officer for the City of Houston. “If you know it’s out there, you have a better chance of protecting yourself against it.”
Hopkins added that data from the program helped the city develop response plans for various outbreaks. However, the wastewater data is used alongside hospital and clinic reports.
“We take that information on a weekly basis and craft what we call interventions, which are responses, to really narrow in on who is being affected,” Hopkins said.
For schools, the city also launched a wastewater alert program. The site allows users to sign up for alerts when a virus is detected at specific schools. The city also has a dashboard where you can see where certain viruses are popping up.
