What's In Your ED's Poop?

Viruses!

New Zealand used wastewater surveillance to great effect during the COVID-19 extermination event, helping public health specifically target regions where SARS-CoV-2 had penetrated the bubble. Wastewater surveillance even has its own, glorious URL: poops.nz

And, now, this is a similar application – but in wastewater specific to an emergency department.

Depending on the local public wastewater infrastructure, a project such as in NZ might not be feasible or offer sufficient coverage – so why not monitor a site enriched with the latest and greatest? Here’s an example comparing positive tests in the Stanford ED to those viruses detected in the wastewater 2024-25:

Whilst there are those who are loathe to admit danger remains from SARS-CoV-2, and, likewise, the public nuisance of influenza – this is an interesting pilot offering another approach to monitoring for potential pandemic pathogens in the community.