Houston Wastewater Epidemiology core team involves an interdisciplinary collaboration of experts from the Houston Health Department, Houston Public Works, and several departments at Rice University. Team members include investigators, expert contributors and advisors, and professional and academic research scientists and engineers who are working to build an advanced wastewater surveillance system for planned responses to viral outbreaks.
Currently, this system is being used to track SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics across Houston. Plans are being implemented to expand the monitoring system to other targets, such as influenza, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and other pathogens.