Volume 30, Number 10—October 2024
EIN Research Letter
Infectious Disease Physicians’ Knowledge and Practices Regarding Wastewater Surveillance, United States, 2024
Table 2
Survey responses |
No. (%) respondents |
Wastewater surveillance conducted in county or state of work | |
Yes | 286 (64) |
No | 18 (4) |
Unsure |
144 (32) |
Awareness and frequency of review of wastewater surveillance data, n = 446 | |
Not aware of those data | 97 (22) |
Aware but do not review regularly | 251 (56) |
Aware and review regularly |
98 (22) |
Use CDC wastewater websites, n = 446 | |
Yes | 194 (43) |
No |
252 (57) |
Type of CDC wastewater websites used, n = 44† | |
COVID WVAL map | 150 (34) |
COVID data tracker | 142 (32) |
COVID variants | 74 (17) |
Mpox |
37 (8) |
Use non-CDC wastewater websites, n = 440 | |
Yes | 125 (28) |
No |
315 (72) |
Targets respondents chose as potentially useful for wastewater surveillance‡ | |
Influenza A | 302 (67) |
Influenza B | 254 (57) |
Respiratory syncytial virus | 247 (55) |
Norovirus | 245 (55) |
Measles | 245 (55) |
Antimicrobial resistance | 198 (44) |
West Nile virus | 172 (38) |
Fungal | 138 (31) |
Bacterial | 117 (26) |
Adenovirus | 110 (25) |
Parasitic diseases | 103 (23) |
Dengue virus |
100 (22) |
Reported geographic reporting level as very useful‡§ | |
City, n = 424 | 281 (66) |
County, n = 431 | 277 (64) |
State, n = 426 | 103 (24) |
Nation, n = 418 |
64 (15) |
Reported facility reporting level as very useful‡§ | |
Hospital, n = 426 | 254 (60) |
Long-term care facility, n = 423 | 230 (54) |
K-12 school, n = 414 | 151 (37) |
University, n = 408 | 121 (30) |
Jail/detention center, n = 414 | 129 (31) |
Homeless shelter, n = 410 | 138 (34) |
*The Infections Disease Society of America Emerging Infections Network is a provider-based emerging infections sentinel network established in 1995 to assist the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health authorities with surveillance for emerging infectious diseases and related phenomena. The electronic survey was distributed via 3 email messages in February and March 2024 to all US EIN infectious disease physician members. n values indicate no. respondents when <448. CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; K–12, kindergarten through 12th grade; WVAL, Wastewater viral activity levels. †CDC COVID WVAL Map (https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-currentlevels.html); CDC COVID Data Tracker (https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance); CDC COVID variants (https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/rv/COVID19-variants.html); CDC Mpox (https://www.cdc.gov/nwss/wastewater-surveillance/mpox-data.html); non-CDC wastewater websites (e.g., from state/local health departments or private/academic organizations). ‡At the time of the survey, the National Wastewater Surveillance System was reporting wastewater surveillance data publicly for SARS-CoV-2 and monkeypox virus at the sampling site, state, and national levels. §Respondents were asked “In your practice, please indicate the usefulness of the following potential levels of reporting...” and to rate geographic location and facility reporting levels for wastewater surveillance data as slightly, somewhat, or very useful.