Ontario's decision to abruptly end its Wastewater Surveillance Initiative has sparked significant concern among health experts and researchers. The program, globally recognized for its role in early disease detection, monitored viruses like #COVID19, RSV, and influenza through wastewater analysis.
In this in-depth feature in The Globe and Mail, Dr. Robert Delatolla, CoVaRR-Net’s Wastewater Surveillance Research Group Director, and professor at the University of Ottawa, emphasizes its value as a crucial public health tool. Dr. Fiona Brinkman, Deputy - Pillar 6, Computational Analysis, Modelling and Evolutionary Outcomes #CAMEO at CoVaRR-Net and professor at Simon Fraser University, highlights the initiative’s rapid, cost-effective monitoring capabilities, which are now at risk.
Despite the Ontario government’s rationale to prevent redundancy with efforts being made by the federal government, the discontinuation of the program will leave a gap in disease surveillance, particularly in rural and northern communities. Fortunately, the University of Ottawa has secured funding to maintain the program temporarily. However, researchers at 13 universities are scrambling to find alternative ways to continue their work with this vital health monitoring resource.
Read more (the article is behind a paywall): https://lnkd.in/gEDktTpr
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