The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag) has been newly commissioned by the Federal Office of Public Health as the National Reference Centre for Wastewater Monitoring. Thi...

Wastewater monitoring became well known during the coronavirus period from 2020, when Eawag and its partners began monitoring whether and which coronaviruses could be detected in wastewater throughout...

Background: Although wastewater monitoring is an effective, nonintrusive public health strategy for tracking community-level #covid19 prevalence, there has been limited research on public perceptions of this novel surveillance method. A significant gap exists in understanding how to design effective communication campaigns to gain public support for wastewater monitoring and persuade individuals to take preventive actions based on the data. Objectives: This study aimed to examine the impact of emotional appeals (fear vs hope) and pronoun use (we vs you) on public support for #covid19 wastewater monitoring, intentions to discuss the intervention, and intentions to engage in preventive behaviors. Methods: An online 2 (emotional appeal: fear vs hope) × 2 (pronoun use: you-language vs we-language) between-subjects experiment with a control condition was conducted. A total of 603 US residents were recruited via Prolific in July 2023. Participants were randomly assigned to view 1 of 5 message stimuli and then completed a survey measuring emotional responses, message judgments (fatigue and shocking value), and the primary outcome variables. Results: Fear appeals led to greater support and stronger intentions to engage in preventive behaviors than hope appeals, while pronoun use had no significant effect. Additionally, message fatigue and shock value mediated the relationship between the message-evoked emotions and the outcome variables, whereby message fatigue was negatively associated with the outcome variables, and message shock value was positively correlated with policy support and communication intention. Conclusions: The findings suggest that while fear-based messages are effective, communication strategies should also aim to mitigate message fatigue to sustain public engagement and support for long-term public health initiatives.

SARS-COV-2 wastewater surveillance may enable early identification of emerging variants. Here, authors compare variants detected in wastewater from Stockholm city, its airport, aircraft, the wider air...

Anchorage Health Department reported measles virus in four wastewater samples collected July 7–14 but no confirmed local cases in 2026; officials warned the detection can be an early warning and urged vaccination events ahead of the school year.

The complexity around the dynamic markets for new psychoactive substances (NPS) forces researchers to develop and apply innovative analytical strategi…

Sichern der Finanzierung des AMELAG-Anschlussprojekts im Bundeshaushalt 2025

Hamilton County Health Commissioner Greg Kesterman told commissioners that Southwest Ohio has seen an unusually high flu hospitalization season—about 931 hospitalizations, 302 in December—and that wastewater monitoring at Little Miami and Mill Creek correlated with hospitalization peaks and can serve as an early warning.