Wastewater monitoring for epidemiological situation assessment
The Ruhrverband and its Hagen wastewater treatment plant are participating in the research project "AMELAG: Wastewater monitoring for epidemiological situation assessment". The background to this is that in the case of various infectious diseases, the pathogens are also excreted in faeces. Wastewater samples therefore provide valuable information on the occurrence and spread of pathogens in the population. Wastewater samples can be analysed in the laboratory to determine the viral load in wastewater.
The Federal Ministry of Health is funding the project in collaboration with the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety with over 30 million euros until the end of 2024 in order to establish suitable structures for wastewater monitoring. The project involves collaboration with the Federal Environment Agency, the Robert Koch Institute, the health and environmental authorities of the federal states, several laboratories and universities as well as other operators of wastewater treatment plants. In total, 175 wastewater treatment plant sites in Germany will be used to determine and monitor the spread of pathogens.
Project phases
In the first phase of the project - from November 2022 - structures and processes for a nationwide network were developed and four technical guidelines for standardised sampling, analysis and data processing were drawn up by the RKI. This will ensure that the results from the various locations are collected as uniformly as possible.
The Ruhrverband is participating in the second phase of the project, which involves establishing wastewater-based routine surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens. Since January 2024, samples have been taken twice a week over 24 hours by an automatic sampler at the end of the grit chamber of the Hagen wastewater treatment plant and analysed in the cooperation laboratory (Ruhrverband/Emschergenossenschaft/Lippeverband). In addition to SARS-CoV-2, other pathogens are to be detected. Therefore, the detection of influenza and RSV is also currently being trialled. Such monitoring of pathogens in wastewater is also included for polio in the draft amendment to the EU Urban Wastewater Directive. The Ruhrverband is therefore well positioned for the requirements that will arise in the future.