tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Infect Dis
. 2026 Aug;32(13):71-79.
doi: 10.3201/eid3213.260709.
Brian Lefferts, Alyssa Leary, Dana Bruden, Ian Blake, Christine Richman, Sarah Sixberry, Michael Vicente, Jennifer Pak, Ellen Hodges, James W Keck
Wastewater surveillance (WS) is underused in rural communities. We evaluated WS performance in the remote, subarctic, mostly Indigenous, community of Bethel, Alaska, USA, during October 2022-May 2024. Wastewater was collected >3 times weekly and underwent on-site PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza A and B viruses. We compared WS virus detection with local clinical data by using results from 318 wastewater samples and 7,392 clinical tests. We detected SARS-CoV-2 in 265 (83.3%) wastewater samples, influenza A virus in 128 (40.3%), RSV in 78 (24.5%), and influenza B virus in 29 (9.1%). Wastewater signals correlated with clinical results for influenza B virus (Spearman ρ = 0.85), influenza A virus (ρ = 0.62), RSV (ρ = 0.60), and SARS-CoV-2 (ρ = 0.59), providing corroborating data that informed the timing of seasonal respiratory virus immunization campaigns. Our findings show that WS is feasible and useful for disease surveillance in rural Alaska.
Keywords: Alaska; American Indian or Alaska Native; SARS-CoV-2; United States; Viruses; influenza; respiratory infections; respiratory syncytial virus; rural health services; rural population; surveillance; wastewater.
. 2026 Aug;32(13):71-79.
doi: 10.3201/eid3213.260709.
Wastewater Respiratory Virus Surveillance in Remote Community, Alaska, USA, 2022-2024
Brian Lefferts, Alyssa Leary, Dana Bruden, Ian Blake, Christine Richman, Sarah Sixberry, Michael Vicente, Jennifer Pak, Ellen Hodges, James W Keck
- PMID: 42747795
- DOI: 10.3201/eid3213.260709
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance (WS) is underused in rural communities. We evaluated WS performance in the remote, subarctic, mostly Indigenous, community of Bethel, Alaska, USA, during October 2022-May 2024. Wastewater was collected >3 times weekly and underwent on-site PCR testing for SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza A and B viruses. We compared WS virus detection with local clinical data by using results from 318 wastewater samples and 7,392 clinical tests. We detected SARS-CoV-2 in 265 (83.3%) wastewater samples, influenza A virus in 128 (40.3%), RSV in 78 (24.5%), and influenza B virus in 29 (9.1%). Wastewater signals correlated with clinical results for influenza B virus (Spearman ρ = 0.85), influenza A virus (ρ = 0.62), RSV (ρ = 0.60), and SARS-CoV-2 (ρ = 0.59), providing corroborating data that informed the timing of seasonal respiratory virus immunization campaigns. Our findings show that WS is feasible and useful for disease surveillance in rural Alaska.
Keywords: Alaska; American Indian or Alaska Native; SARS-CoV-2; United States; Viruses; influenza; respiratory infections; respiratory syncytial virus; rural health services; rural population; surveillance; wastewater.