What is it?
Wastewater tracking, or wastewater surveillance, is the detection and measurement of a certain indicator or target from the wastewater system.
Anywhere from 30-90% of antibiotics are excreted in waste, often still in a biologically active form [1]. This waste can also contain antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Monitoring trends in antimicrobial use (AMU) and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through wastewater allows for targeted intervention [2].
Most recently this approach has been utilized to track the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in communities across Canada [3].
Challenges
- While beef cattle production within Canada largely occurs within Southern Alberta, it is spread across the country and often takes place in rural areas. This makes it difficult to scale wastewater tracking to cover all operations.
- Wastewater tracking requires resources, such as infrastructure and labour to build and maintain a database to detect abnormal levels and trends within the water.
How Does it Prevent AMR?
Increasing the monitoring of AMU and AMR adds a layer of biosecurity. By knowing when trends are high, action can be taken to investigate the cause, intervene, and determine a way to mitigate the risk in the future.
Wastewater is collected at different sites throughout Alberta and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2.
Further Reading
Research Gaps
Product/Service Gaps
Reference
[1] A. C. Singer, H. Shaw, V. Rhodes, and A. Hart, ‘Review of Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and Its Relevance to Environmental Regulators’, Front. Microbiol., vol. 7, 2016, Accessed: Aug. 22, 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01728
[2] Public Health Agency of Canada, ‘Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System Report 2021’, Apr. 25, 2022. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/publications/drugs-health-products/canadian-antimicrobial-resistance-surveillance-system-report-2021.html (accessed Aug. 22, 2022).
[3] ‘PHAC Wastewater Surveillance Program for COVID-19’, National Collaborating Centre for Infectious Diseases, Jul. 28, 2022. https://nccid.ca/wastewater-surveillance-for-covid-19/ (accessed Aug. 22, 2022).
