Respiratory Viruses in Wastewater Compared with Clinical Samples, Leuven, Belgium

Abstract

In a 2-year study in Leuven, Belgium, we investigated the use of wastewater sampling to assess community spread of respiratory viruses. Comparison with the number of positive clinical samples demonstrated that wastewater data reflected circulation levels of typical seasonal respiratory viruses, such as influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and enterovirus D68.

Keywords

• respiratory infections
• viruses
• wastewater-based epidemiology
• acute respiratory tract infection
• respiratory panel
• influenza