Wastewater surveillance for the City of Vienna

Duration:
 01/2024 - 12/2024

Financing:

ebswien kläranlage & tierservice Ges.m.b.H

Contact Person:
Julia Vierheilig

Co-worker:
Gabriela Eder, Philipp Raunjak, Irina Dielacher

Project partner:
ebswien kläranlage & tierservice Ges.m.b.H., Wien Kanal, Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (MA15), City of Vienna - Municipal Department for Economic Affairs, Labour and Statistics (MA23)

Brief information on the project

The aim of the project CSI Wastewater, which has been running since 2020, is to monitor the incidence of infection of the Viennese population for various pathogenic viruses through wastewater. Sampling the inflow of the Vienna wastewater treatment plant several times a week enables almost seamless trend tracking of individual pathogens, which cover a broad spectrum relevant to public health, from SARS-CoV-2, influenza and RSV to measles. The exchange of information between the project partners takes place on a weekly basis. The current laboratory results measured by TU Wien and the associated information provided by the project partners are discussed. The results serve as an important source of information for public health institutions, such as epidemiological preparedness, and can be used as a decision-making basis for establishing various measures in epidemiologically critical times.

The Vienna Wastewater Dashboard was published in February 2024, making the results of the quantification of respiratory viruses (SARS-CoV-2, influenza and RSV) available to the public. The graphs are updated on a weekly basis and thus also provide private individuals with an insight into the spread of the various targets (see link above).

In addition to the monitoring of pathogenic viruses, the establishment of regular monitoring of selected antibiotic resistance genes in the inflow and outflow of Vienna's wastewater treatment plant is also part of the project.