Surveillance of Health-Relevant Pathogens Employing Wastewater

A special issue of Microorganisms (ISSN 2076-2607). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Microbiology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 76

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC), 21027 Ispra, Italy
Interests: wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES); SARS-CoV-2; public health; COVID-19 pandemic; pathogen monitoring
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Guest Editor
Department of Intensive Care Medicine, University Hospital RWTH Aachen, 52074 Aachen, Germany
Interests: critical care medicine; infectious diseases; telemedicine; digital transformation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to introduce the second edition of our Special Issue “Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Employing Wastewater” (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/microorganisms/special_issues/EZWTO53D8J), now entitled "Surveillance of Health-Relevant Pathogens Employing Wastewater". Building on the success of the initial edition focused on SARS-CoV-2, this edition broadens the scope to capture the evolving landscape of Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance (WES), particularly its application in monitoring emerging pathogens and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) as we move into 2025 and beyond.

Wastewater has become a potent source of information, not just for public health, but also for significant economic sectors such as hospitals, aviation, tourism, and agriculture. The encoded data in wastewater offers early insights into pathogen prevalence, for instance, empowering healthcare facilities with timely intervention strategies and aiding in the design of effective infection control protocols. In the aviation and tourism industries, understanding regional pathogen dynamics enables the establishment of informed policies to safeguard the health of travellers. Similarly, in agriculture, insights gleaned from surveillance can inform practices related to livestock management and food safety, as well as addressing concerns associated with AMR.

This Special Issue delves into the advancements in WES that have enabled such comprehensive applications. It emphasizes the progression of health sector leadership, ethical practices, and the integration of wastewater data into broader public health and economic frameworks. By covering key aspects such as sampling, storage, laboratory analysis, data normalization, and communication, this edition underscores the vital role WES plays in enhancing global health security.

By synthesizing the various applications and opportunities offered by wastewater surveillance, this edition aims to illustrate its expanding influence on health preparedness and its potential to safeguard economically relevant sectors against emerging health threats. We look forward to exploring these dimensions with you.

Dr. Bernd Manfred Gawlik
Prof. Dr. Gernot Marx
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Microorganisms is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES)
  • emerging pathogens
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • public health
  • pathogen monitoring
  • global health security

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Published Papers

This special issue is now open for submission.
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