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Houston Health Department
Rice University
Houston Public Works

Early-warning system to protect and promote human health and inform Houston’s response to viral outbreaks

A lot of progress has been made to protect and promote human health with the most notable result being increased life expectancy. Yet, the emergence of prominent outbreaks of infectious diseases and antimicrobial resistance have remained as critical threats to global public health today.

To address the challenge of anticipating and responding to prominent outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Houston Wastewater Epidemiology has implemented a comprehensive, cost-effective system to monitor community infection dynamics of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19. We are also working to expand the comprehensive wastewater monitoring system to target influenza, mpox, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and other pathogens.

Pilot Wastewater Alert Program HISD Schools

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How Houston’s public health interventions have been guided by wastewater

New features help Houstonians understand the prevalence of COVID-19, influenza at the community level

A Consensus Study Report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine

The Houston Wastewater Epidemiology team will deliver an honorary lecture at the 6th Annual TMC Antimicrobial Resistance and Stewardship Conference.

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September 2023

October 2023

October 19

Texas Epidemic Public Health Institute (TEPHI)
Texas Public Health Summit

Loren Hopkins, Ph.D.
Chief Environmental Science Officer and Bureau Chief, Data Science Division
Houston Health Department
Professor in the Practice of Statistics
Rice University

November 2023

December 2023

January 2024


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