Multiplexed Detection, Partitioning, and Persistence of Wild-Type and Vaccine Strains of Measles, Mumps, and Rubella Viruses in Wastewater.

Wastewater surveillance of vaccine-preventable diseases may provide early warning of outbreaks and identify areas to target for immunization. To advance wastewater monitoring of measles, mumps, and rubella viruses, we developed and validated a multiplexed RT-ddPCR assay for the detection of their RNA. Because the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccine is an attenuated live virus vaccine, we also developed an assay that distinguishes between wild-type and vaccine strains of measles in wastewater and validated it using a wastewater sample collected from a facility with an active measles outbreak.

Implementing an Alert System for Communicating Actionable Wastewater Surveillance Results to School Communities, Houston, Texas, 2023-2024.

In 2020, the Houston Health Department (HHD) in Texas launched a citywide wastewater surveillance program, including a pilot program that monitored manholes at schools in Houston's largest school district (prekindergarten-12th grade). By 2022, the pilot program monitored wastewater for SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and respiratory syncytial virus. To ensure effective communication of wastewater surveillance results to school communities, HHD designed and implemented a text- and email-based alert system using existing City of Houston resources.

Assessment of Public Health Agency and Utility Training Needs for CDC National Wastewater Surveillance System Jurisdictions in the United States.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance hasemerged as a critical tool for tracking the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) virus and other pathogens in communities throughout the United States. In 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), which partners with state, local, tribal, and territorial health departments to develop and implement wastewater collection and analysis systems and to share data. In 2022, the CDC established the first two NWSS Centers of Excellence to lead its implementation and coordination efforts-one in Colorado (Colorado CoE) and one in Houston (Houston CoE).

Spatial Variability in Relationships between Early Childhood Lead Exposure and Standardized Test Scores in Fourth Grade North Carolina Public School Students (2013-2016).

Background: Exposure to lead during childhood is detrimental to children's health. The extent to which the association between lead exposure and elementary school academic outcomes varies across geography is not known.

Objective: Estimate associations between blood lead levels (BLLs) and fourth grade standardized test scores in reading and mathematics in North Carolina using models that allow associations between BLL and test scores to vary spatially across communities.

Wastewater Target Pathogens of Public Health Importance for Expanded Sampling, Houston, Texas, USA.

Building on the success of initiatives put forth during the COVID-19 pandemic response, US health officials are expanding wastewater surveillance programs to track other target pathogens and diseases of public health interest. The Houston Health Department in Houston, Texas, USA, conducted a hypothesis-generating study whereby infectious disease subject matter experts suggested potential targets. This study addressed 2 criteria recommended by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for selecting wastewater targets.