Influenza and RSV results. OHA has a newly designed data dashboard that includes influenza and RSV wastewater results. The 2021-22 and 2022-23 flu seasons were a pilot project for the OHA-OSU Wastewater Surveillance Team.  After completing the pilot period and reviewing the data, OHA determined that it should be shared with all communities to serve as a historic benchmark for wastewater flu and RSV concentrations in their community. The new dashboard includes the current and historical flu and RSV data. Note that the flu data is the sum of the flu A and flu B concentrations. The dashboard can be found at https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/oregon.public.health.division.acute.and.communicable.disease.pre/viz/OregonsRVPWastewaterMonitoring/Mainpage.

Utilities - Supply Inventory. This summer we began a new supply shipping schedule, which included some built-in surplus, as we were trying to avoid issues we had experienced with utilities not having supplies. We know of some instances where we have over delivered! Please let us know if you have too many supplies, or too many of some supplies (e.g. envelopes).

WEF Network of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (NWBE) Website. This website has abundant information about wastewater monitoring for public health. Examples include:

  • Sewer Signals Podcast: Utility professionals discuss their surveillance experiences
  • Pathogen Fact Sheets: Information for water professionals on antimicrobial resistance, mpox virus, and poliovirus.
  • FAQ’s : Answers to your questions, including “What do public health officials do with wastewater data?” Answer below.

“Communities—whether cities, neighborhoods, or facilities—that participate in wastewater surveillance use the data in several ways, and ultimately this decision is up to the relevant public health entity. These public health entities would not have access to this critically important information were it not for the participation of wastewater utilities in sampling design and sample collection efforts."