Bio-Rad Reads: Wastewater January Edition

Welcome to the January issue of Bio-Rad Reads: Wastewater Edition. We’re looking forward to a new year of possibilities—and we hope you are too! This monthly newsletter directly brings you the latest news and information about wastewater testing. Wastewater surveillance has proven to be a successful method for monitoring infectious diseases, including polio and COVID-19, and offers officials vital information for decreasing pathogen spread.

This edition includes:

• An article about the CDC’s new wastewater testing initiative in some communities within the U.S.
• A Bioradiations blog post about the benefits of ddPCR? technology
• A webinar from Water Environment Federation Buyer’s Guide about best practices for wastewater testing

The CDC recently announced it would begin wastewater surveillance for vaccine-derived polioviruses in some communities throughout the country, including Michigan and Pennsylvania. This article discusses the process of testing for polio in wastewater and describes measures that need to be put in place if it is found within communities.

COVID-19 isn’t going away, and new SARS-CoV-2 variants are always popping up. So we need a fast, cheap, sensitive way to monitor for new outbreaks and learn about infection rates. That’s where wastewater testing comes in. But what role did wastewater testing play before the pandemic, and what role will it play after?

Read our Bioradiations Blog Post to learn more and discover why ddPCR technology is ideally suited for this application as wastewater-based epidemiology continues to evolve.

To conduct the most accurate and reliable wastewater testing, scientists must keep up with best practices and compare their results to top-notch standards. In this webinar hosted by the Water Environment Federation, you can find an excellent summary of that information in one place. Our very own Frank Bizouarn and Dr. Mats Leifels of Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University discuss where the field stands and share a few stories of wastewater testing in action.