To advance the understanding of foodborne disease burden, wastewater samples were analysed for detection of gastrointestinal pathogens as part of the Pathogen Surveillance in Agriculture, Food and Environment (PATH-SAFE) programme (https://www.food.gov.uk/our-work/pathogen-surveillance-in-agriculture-food-and-environment-path-safe-programme) and leveraging on the waterwork network already in place, supporting the poliovirus (PV) wastewater surveillance programme (UKHSA). The selected pathogens were Campylobacter , Salmonella , Shigella , Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) and norovirus (NoV). Genotyping was undertaken for NoV to assess strain circulation in the UK population. Between April 2024 and March 2025, a total of 291 wastewater samples were collected from 32 sewage treatment works. Samples were tested for up to 5 pathogens which were Campylobacter spp. ( C. jejuni and C. coli ), Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., STEC and/or NoV, depending on material availability. Two hundred and fifty-five wastewater samples were tested for the bacterial targets whilst 287 samples were tested for NoV. Initial bacterial detection rates in this study were lower than those reported in the literature. To determine whether this lower-than-expected rates were due to the extraction fraction used for detection of bacterial targets, the protocol was modified to test the pellet fraction rather than the supernatant. This change improved detection rates, although only a small proportion of samples were assessed. Potential impact on results interpretation is discussed. Two hundred and eighty-four samples (99%) were positive for NoV, and of those, 266 were processed for genotyping by sequencing (for 18 samples, insufficient material was left). A total of 14 NoV strains belonging to genogroup I (GI) and 22 to genogroup II (GII) were identified during the study. The high prevalence of the GII.17 NoV strain which, until 2024, was infrequently detected in clinical surveillance, showcases the relevance of wastewater surveillance for monitoring strains circulation.
Agency et al. (Tue,) studied this question.