DIRTY SECRETS
Your sewage could become the government's next data source — what they want to find
The Surprising Way Officials Want To Detect The Next Pandemic
Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced bipartisan legislation last week aimed at expanding the nation’s wastewater surveillance network to help detect infectious disease outbreaks earlier and improve the country’s preparedness for future public health emergencies.The proposal, known as the Public Health Response and Emergency Detection through Integrated Wastewater Community Testing Act or the PREDICT Act, would strengthen monitoring systems that analyze sewage for traces of viruses and bacteria circulating in communities.Joining Scott and Booker in introducing the legislation are Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ted Budd (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Angus King (I-ME).Wastewater surveillance works by sampling sewage systems to detect viral or bacterial material shed by infected individuals during routine daily activities. Because people can spread pathogens even before showing symptoms, or without showing symptoms at all, the system can provide public health officials with an early warning signal that diseases are circulating in a community.Officials say the...
