How wastewater surveillance is tracking diseases outbreaks

When you flush your toilet, where does the waste go? Down the pipes, through the sewers, and into a… lab? That’s right, hidden in our collective waste is a archive of genomic clues revealing our health, habits, and maybe even happiness levels.

In this episode, host Dr. Kaylee Byers teams up with Dr. Jess Steier from the Unbiased Science podcast as they dive into the world of wastewater surveillance. Along the way, they enlist a seasoned “poo detective,” Dr. Natalie Prystajecky, who wades through some wastewater 101, and how sewage can tip us off to disease outbreaks before symptoms even start. Then, Dr. Yemisi Bokinni brings the investigation to the not-so-small town of Makoko, Nigeria, where a new genome sequencing lab is chasing an old culprit: polio.

From your neighbourhood sewers to global health and future pandemics, we're using genomics to identify poo dunnit.

Highlights

(3:26) Wastewater 101: Dr. Natalie Prystajecky flushes out the basics

(9:07) Diving into the murky ethics of wastewater surveillance

(19:13) Tracking down polio in a floating village

(26:45) Can wastewater tip us off to the next pandemic

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Resources

1. Wastewater Surveillance– BC Centre for Disease Control

2. Wastewater surveillance tells a quiet story of polio’s return– BMJ

3. Nigeria’s polio battleground'– Nature

4. Makoko: ‘Venice of Lagos’– SmartCities Dive