Wastewater monitoring

THL’s wastewater study produces information on the regional prevalence and any changes to coronavirus, influenza A- and B-viruses as well as RSV.

Wastewater samples indicate the numbers of certain pathogens present in the sewer network area.  Wastewater monitoring can be used to detect changes in the prevalence of the objects of monitoring on a city-specific and almost real-time basis. This helps to anticipate and assess changes also in the population’s infection situation.

The prevalence of respiratory viruses and the variants of coronavirus are monitored in wastewater:

• Respiratory virus wastewater monitoring
• Weekly report on wastewater monitoring for coronavirus
• Detected coronavirus variants in wastewater

In Finland, a wastewater-based monitoring is being developed in case pathogenic microbes and their antibiotic resistance spread:

• Wastewater-based surveillance as pandemic preparedness tool
• WastPan portal

Wastewater research has also been carried out for a long time to monitor the possible occurrence of polio in the population and to monitor drug use at the population level:

• Polio wastewater monitoring (in Finnish)
• Drug use monitoring at the population level (in Finnish)

Contact information:

jatevesiseuranta(at)thl.fi