{"id":140853,"date":"2025-08-12T23:05:12","date_gmt":"2025-08-12T23:05:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/140853\/"},"modified":"2025-08-12T23:05:12","modified_gmt":"2025-08-12T23:05:12","slug":"how-wastewater-testing-protects-kids-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/140853\/","title":{"rendered":"How wastewater testing protects kids\u2019 health"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\"><strong>HOUSTON<\/strong> \u2013 Mother of three Ebony London prioritizes her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/health\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/health\/\">children\u2019s health, <\/a>focusing on balanced meals and vitamins. This approach is especially crucial for her son, RJ.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cRJ is a two-time survivor of rhabdomyosarcoma,\u201d London said. \u201cHe\u2019s still on oral chemo, and so his immune system can be up and down. It\u2019s really good for me to know what\u2019s out there so that we can take the necessary precautions to keep him healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">A wastewater surveillance program led by the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.click2houston.com\/news\/\">City of Houston<\/a> and Rice University aims to provide parents like London with early warnings about viruses circulating in the community to help keep children healthy and in school.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cYou can\u2019t live in a bubble, and so it\u2019s important for us to know what\u2019s out there and for others to know it\u2019s out there and take the precautions to prevent a massive spread,\u201d London said.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">The partnership began during the COVID-19 pandemic to anticipate large outbreaks. After the pandemic, the program continued and expanded.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cIt allows for early detection of emerging threats in our community,\u201d said Lauren Stadler, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at Rice University.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Stadler explained, \u201cWhen someone\u2019s infected with a disease, they actually shed some of the disease, the particles of that disease into the wastewater, and that happens because either you excrete it through urine or feces, but also you cough and you spit, or you take a shower and all those things end up down the drain.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">More than 100 wastewater collection sites across Houston participate in the program, including treatment plants, the county jail, nursing homes, homeless shelters, and 47 schools in the Houston Independent School District.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">While the program mainly tests for SARS-CoV-2, flu, and RSV, it can detect 29 different pathogens and certain bacteria as needed. For example, it helped confirm that recent measles cases in Houston were isolated and travel-related, not part of a larger outbreak.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 kDvXdO font_openSans articleList\">\n<li class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__StackBase-sc-1fnzlkn-7 ecGWWE iQviKm\"\/><\/ul>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cThe whole program is about monitoring health and viruses so that people can take precautions to protect themselves and keep themselves well,\u201d said Loren Hopkins, PhD, chief environmental science officer for the City of Houston. \u201cIf you know it\u2019s out there, you have a better chance of protecting yourself against it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">Hopkins added that data from the program helped the city develop response plans for various outbreaks. However, the wastewater data is used alongside hospital and clinic reports.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">\u201cWe take that information on a weekly basis and craft what we call interventions, which are responses, to really narrow in on who is being affected,\u201d Hopkins said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dist__Box-sc-1fnzlkn-0 dist__TextBase-sc-1fnzlkn-3 bYFsJw cuqaEv article-text\">For schools, the city also launched a <a href=\"\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"\" title=\"\">wastewater alert program.<\/a> The site allows users to sign up for alerts when a virus is detected at specific schools. The city also has a <a href=\"https:\/\/covidwwtp.spatialstudieslab.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/covidwwtp.spatialstudieslab.org\/\">dashboard <\/a>where you can see where certain viruses are popping up.<\/p>\n<p>Copyright 2025 by KPRC Click2Houston &#8211; All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HOUSTON \u2013 Mother of three Ebony London prioritizes her children\u2019s health, focusing on balanced meals and vitamins. This&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":140854,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5130],"tags":[23053,10882,4345,16844,84060,11645,22269,358,3187,13203,84059],"class_list":{"0":"post-140853","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-houston","8":"tag-bacteria","9":"tag-city-of-houston","10":"tag-houston","11":"tag-investigates","12":"tag-rice-unversity","13":"tag-school","14":"tag-surveillance","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-tx","17":"tag-virus","18":"tag-wasterwater"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115018302998397108","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140853","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140853"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140853\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140854"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140853"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140853"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140853"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}