As thousands of travelers descend upon North Texas for the FIFA World Cup, regional public health officials are ramping up wastewater testing.
The process, which includes testing sewage samples from designated spots for certain diseases, viruses and bacterial infections, is one of several ways regional health systems track potential pathogen levels, said Russ Jones, chief epidemiologist at Tarrant County Public Health.
Unlike clinical surveillance and syndromic data, compiled from information received by medical systems, wastewater testing gives “an idea of what may be going on in the community” for patients not going to the doctor for medical care, Jones added.
“The goal is to help local jurisdictions be ahead of the game and aware as early as possible that they may see people with certain illnesses,” said Chris Van Deusen, director of media relations at the Texas Department of State Health Services, in an email to the Fort Worth Report.
The state health services departments work with local health agencies, like Tarrant County Public Health, to complete wastewater testing procedures.
Diseases and viruses routinely screened include the flu, RSV, COVID-19, measles, monkeypox and norovirus, Jones said. During the monthlong tournament, where nine matches will be played at AT&T Stadium, chikungunya, dengue, hepatitis A, pertussis and West Nile virus will also be tested and tracked, Van Deusen said.
“People are coming in from different places, they have different diseases, and those may be of concern here,” Jones said. “The state has implemented, or started implementing, their process to test for those.”
Public health officials are also monitoring certain international travelers regarding the current Ebola outbreak.
Wastewater testing has been a public health tool for decades but began being more widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, Jones said.
Coupled with hospital systems tracking impending outbreaks based on patient rates, wastewater testing helps public health officials keep people informed, Jones said.
“When you get to a certain level — if we were to find measles, for example, in the wastewater samples — there’d be a Health Alert going out to tell providers, ‘Here’s something to be looking for and what to look for,’” he added.
Six locations will see regular wastewater testing before and during the World Cup, Van Deusen said: two in Arlington, including one near AT&T Stadium area; one near DFW International Airport; one in Frisco near Toyota Stadium; one in Fort Worth; and one in Denton. The specific testing locations are kept confidential to avoid vandalism.
The county also works with Texas Wastewater and Environmental Biomonitoring, a public dashboard of pathogen wastewater levels. The page is accessible here.
Ismael M. Belkoura is the nonprofit editor for the Fort Worth Report. His position is supported by a grant from North Texas Community Foundation. Contact him at ismael.belkoura@fortworthreport.org.
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