Abstract
Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) is a novel community-wide monitoring tool that provides comprehensive real-time data of the public and environmental health status and can contribute to public health interventions, including those related to infectious disease outbreaks (e.g., the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic). Nonetheless, municipalities without centralized laboratories are likely still not able to process WBE samples. Biosensors are a potentially cost-effective solution to monitor the development of diseases through WBE to prevent local outbreaks. This review discusses the economic and technical feasibility of eighteen recently developed biosensors for the detection and monitoring of infectious disease agents in wastewater, prospecting the prevention of future pandemics.
An evidence-based Decision-Making process for the monitoring of viral pathogens in wastewater through biosensing techniques is proposed with the aim of tracing, mitigating, and preventing disease outbreaks in resource-constrained regions. Created with BioRender.com. [Display omitted]
•Important challenges remain for the implementation of WBE in LMICs.•Sampling methods, sample pretreatment and quantification should be more attainable.•Implementing biosensing techniques in WBE is a promising surveillance alternative.•Paper-based and nano-based biosensing devices are promising alternatives for WBE.•Further studies should focus on the design and validation of biosensors in sewage.