Wastewater-Based Epidemiology and Viral Surveillance
A special issue of Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915). This special issue belongs to the section "Human Virology and Viral Diseases".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026
Special Issue Editors
Interests: waterborne pathogens; microbiological water quality; environmental microbiology analytical methods; water microbiological indicator of contamination; wastewater-based epidemiology; treated wastewater microbiological quality; airborne PM genotoxic effect
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: environmental health; drinking water; wastewater; microbiological contamination; pathogens; ecotoxicology; mutagenicity; non thermal plasma treatment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: emerging pathogens; environment; antibiotic resistance; molecular methods; water; food
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Wastewater‐based epidemiology (WBE) is a method that monitors the presence of viral pathogens in community sewage systems, using wastewater as a pooled sample that reflects virus shedding from the population. WBE has emerged as a transformative approach for monitoring known and emerging viral pathogens at the population level. By analysing community sewage, WBE provides a cost-effective and non-invasive means of tracking infectious diseases, enabling early detection of outbreaks and supporting informed public health responses.
This Special Issue focuses on the application of WBE to viral surveillance. Contributions may address both methodological innovations, case studies, and results of monitoring programmes demonstrating the power of WBE in understanding viral dynamics within communities.
Contributions may include the following topics:
- Detection and quantification of viral pathogens in wastewater;
- Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2, influenza, norovirus, RSV, adenovirus, and other viruses;
- Genomic and metagenomic approaches for virus identification and variant tracking;
- Correlation of wastewater viral load with clinical and epidemiological data;
- Advances in virus concentration, recovery, and detection techniques;
- Modeling, data analytics, and spatiotemporal trend analysis;
- Critical Environmental Factors Affecting WBE Data (persistence/decay of viral RNA/DNA, presence of Inhibitors, population dynamics, etc.)
- Public health applications and integration with surveillance systems
- Standardization and harmonization of WBE methodologies
Prof. Dr. Elisabetta Carraro
Prof. Dr. Cristina Pignata
Dr. Silvia Bonetta
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. Viruses 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 2600 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‐based epidemiology
- WBE
- viral surveillance
- virus shedding
- sewage
- viral dynamics
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
