Wastewater Monitoring Could Help in Early Prediction of Influenza Outbreaks
Seasonal influenza often spreads rapidly, and timely data can help policymakers and the health care system make the right decisions on matters like resource planning. A new study conducted in Japan suggests that monitoring wastewater could be a helpful way of learning in advance how influenza outbreaks are likely to manifest a week before data on patients affected flag outbreak trends. The study, conducted by an Osaka University-based team led by Prof. Michio Murakami, found that measuring the viral RNA of the influenza virus in wastewater can help teams to accurately estimate the incidence of influenza in communities. Such estimates…
