Bridging the gap between research and decision making: A European survey to enhance cooperation in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for illicit drugs

Jose Antonio Baz-Lomba¹, AlexanderL N van Nuijs², Anna Lenart-Boroń³, Anna Péterfi⁴, Anne de l'Eprevier⁵, Arndís Sue Ching Löve⁶, Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern⁷, Christoph Ort⁸, Elisabetta Simeoni⁹, Ester Heath¹⁰, Evelina Pridotkiene¹¹, Foon Yin Lai¹², Frederic Béen¹³, Herbert Oberacher¹⁴, Igor Bodík¹⁵, Iva Valenčić¹⁶, Jaroslav Slobodnik¹⁷, Joakim Strandberg¹⁸, Kevin Sheeran¹⁹, Laura Alexandra Smit-Rigter²⁰, Leon P Barron²¹, Lubertus Bijlsma²², Magda Psichoudaki²³, Maria Savvidou²⁴, Marit Edland-Gryt²⁵, Martin Busch²⁶, Mateja Jandl²⁷, Michael G Bertram²⁸, Miren López de Alda²⁹, Nadine Berndt³⁰, Nebile Daglioglu³¹, Nikolaos Thomaidis³², Loïc Fabien³³, Pavla Chomynova³⁴, Reinhard Oertel³⁵, Sara Castiglioni³⁶, Selda Mercan³⁷, Serap Annette Akgür³⁸, Serge Schneider³⁹, Teemu Gunnar⁴⁰, Thomas L Ter Laak⁴¹, Thomas Thiebault⁴², João Pedro Matias⁴³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infection Control and Preparedness, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: joseantonio.bazlomba@fhi.no.
² Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
³ Department of Microbiology and Biomonitoring, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Adam Mickiewicz Ave. 24/28, 30-059, Krakow, Poland.
⁴ Nemzeti Drog Fókuszpont, Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, rue de Varenne 69, 75007, Paris, France.
⁶ University of Iceland, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Hofsvallagata 53, 107, Reykjavik, Iceland; University of Iceland, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hofsvallagata 53, 107, Reykjavik, Iceland.
⁷ Centre of Excellence in Water Based Early Warning Systems for Health Protection, University of Bath, Claverton Down, BA2 7AY, Bath, United Kingdom.
⁸ Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
⁹ Technical Scientific and General Affairs Section, Department for Anti-Drug Policies, Prime Minister's Office, Rome, Italy.
¹⁰ Jožef Stefan Institute and International Postgraduate School, Jamova 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
¹¹ Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, Šv. Stepono str. 27A, LT-01312, Vilnius, Lithuania.
¹² Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden.
¹³ KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands; Chemistry for Environment and Health, Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
¹⁴ Institute of Legal Medicine and Core Facility Metabolomics, Medical University of Innsbruck, Müllerstraße, 44, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria.
¹⁵ Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
¹⁶ Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
¹⁷ Environmental Institute, Okružná 784/42, 97241, Koš, Slovak Republic.
¹⁸ Department of Living Conditions and Lifestyle, The Public Health Agency of Sweden, Folkhälsomyndigheten, SE-17182, Solna, Sweden.
¹⁹ Aqua Enviro Sampling and Laboratory Services, Suez, Wakefield, United Kingdom.
²⁰ Department of Drug Monitoring & Policy, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
²¹ MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, United Kingdom.
²² Environmental and Public Health Analytical Chemistry, Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, E-12071, Castelló, Spain.
²³ Nireas-International Water Research Centre, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus.
²⁴ Cyprus National Addictions Authority, Cyprus National Focal Point of EUDA, 35 Iosif Hadjiosif and Andreas Avraamides, 1st Floor, 2028, Nicosia, Cyprus.
²⁵ Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 222 Skøyen, 0213, Oslo, Norway.
²⁶ Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, Austrian National Public Health Institute, Vienna, Austria.
²⁷ National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
²⁸ Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
²⁹ Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 080834, Barcelona, Spain.
³⁰ Direction de la santé - service d'épidémiologie et statistique, rue de Bitbourg 20, Luxembourg-Hamm, 1273, Luxembourg.
³¹ Institute of Forensic Sciences, Department of Forensic Toxicology, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye.
³² Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
³³ National Criminal Intelligence Service of the French Gendarmerie, 95300, Pontoise, France.
³⁴ Czech National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
³⁵ Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
³⁶ Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156, Milan, Italy.
³⁷ Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, The Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Department of Science, Istanbul, Türkiye.
³⁸ Ege University, Institute on Drug Abuse, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science, Izmir, Türkiye.
³⁹ Analytical Chemistry Service, Laboratoire national de santé, 1 Rue Louis Rech, Dudelange, Luxembourg.
⁴⁰ Forensic Chemistry Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
⁴¹ KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
⁴² METIS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université PSL, CNRS, Paris, 75005, France.
⁴³ European Union Drugs Agency, Lisbon, Portugal.

PMID: 40014941
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.009

Free article

Bridging the gap between research and decision making: A European survey to enhance cooperation in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for illicit drugs

Jose Antonio Baz-Lomba et al. Public Health. 2025 Apr.

Free article

. 2025 Apr:241:158-163.

doi: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.009. Epub 2025 Feb 27.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Department of Infection Control and Preparedness, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway. Electronic address: joseantonio.bazlomba@fhi.no.
² Toxicological Center, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
³ Department of Microbiology and Biomonitoring, Faculty of Agriculture and Economics, University of Agriculture in Kraków, Adam Mickiewicz Ave. 24/28, 30-059, Krakow, Poland.
⁴ Nemzeti Drog Fókuszpont, Budapest, Hungary.
⁵ French Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, rue de Varenne 69, 75007, Paris, France.
⁶ University of Iceland, Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Hofsvallagata 53, 107, Reykjavik, Iceland; University of Iceland, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hofsvallagata 53, 107, Reykjavik, Iceland.
⁷ Centre of Excellence in Water Based Early Warning Systems for Health Protection, University of Bath, Claverton Down, BA2 7AY, Bath, United Kingdom.
⁸ Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 8600, Dübendorf, Switzerland.
⁹ Technical Scientific and General Affairs Section, Department for Anti-Drug Policies, Prime Minister's Office, Rome, Italy.
¹⁰ Jožef Stefan Institute and International Postgraduate School, Jamova 39, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
¹¹ Drug, Tobacco and Alcohol Control Department, Šv. Stepono str. 27A, LT-01312, Vilnius, Lithuania.
¹² Department of Aquatic Sciences and Assessment, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), SE-75007, Uppsala, Sweden.
¹³ KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands; Chemistry for Environment and Health, Amsterdam Institute for Life and Environment (A-LIFE), Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
¹⁴ Institute of Legal Medicine and Core Facility Metabolomics, Medical University of Innsbruck, Müllerstraße, 44, Innsbruck, 6020, Austria.
¹⁵ Dept. of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Chemical and Food Technology, Slovak University of Technology, Bratislava, Slovak Republic.
¹⁶ Croatian Institute of Public Health, Zagreb, Croatia.
¹⁷ Environmental Institute, Okružná 784/42, 97241, Koš, Slovak Republic.
¹⁸ Department of Living Conditions and Lifestyle, The Public Health Agency of Sweden, Folkhälsomyndigheten, SE-17182, Solna, Sweden.
¹⁹ Aqua Enviro Sampling and Laboratory Services, Suez, Wakefield, United Kingdom.
²⁰ Department of Drug Monitoring & Policy, Trimbos Institute, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
²¹ MRC Centre for Environment and Health, Environmental Research Group, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, 86 Wood Lane, London, W12 0BZ, United Kingdom.
²² Environmental and Public Health Analytical Chemistry, Research Institute for Pesticides and Water, University Jaume I, E-12071, Castelló, Spain.
²³ Nireas-International Water Research Centre, University of Cyprus, P.O. Box 20537, 1678, Nicosia, Cyprus.
²⁴ Cyprus National Addictions Authority, Cyprus National Focal Point of EUDA, 35 Iosif Hadjiosif and Andreas Avraamides, 1st Floor, 2028, Nicosia, Cyprus.
²⁵ Department of Alcohol, Tobacco and Drugs, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, P.O. Box 222 Skøyen, 0213, Oslo, Norway.
²⁶ Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, Austrian National Public Health Institute, Vienna, Austria.
²⁷ National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
²⁸ Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia.
²⁹ Water, Environmental and Food Chemistry Unit (ENFOCHEM), Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona 18-26, 080834, Barcelona, Spain.
³⁰ Direction de la santé - service d'épidémiologie et statistique, rue de Bitbourg 20, Luxembourg-Hamm, 1273, Luxembourg.
³¹ Institute of Forensic Sciences, Department of Forensic Toxicology, Ankara University, Ankara, Türkiye.
³² Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
³³ National Criminal Intelligence Service of the French Gendarmerie, 95300, Pontoise, France.
³⁴ Czech National Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Addiction, Office of the Government of the Czech Republic, Prague, Czech Republic.
³⁵ Institute of Clinical Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Fetscherstrasse 74, 01307, Dresden, Germany.
³⁶ Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156, Milan, Italy.
³⁷ Istanbul University-Cerrahpaşa, The Institute of Forensic Sciences and Legal Medicine, Department of Science, Istanbul, Türkiye.
³⁸ Ege University, Institute on Drug Abuse, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science, Izmir, Türkiye.
³⁹ Analytical Chemistry Service, Laboratoire national de santé, 1 Rue Louis Rech, Dudelange, Luxembourg.
⁴⁰ Forensic Chemistry Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Helsinki, Finland.
⁴¹ KWR Water Research Institute, Nieuwegein, the Netherlands; Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics (IBED), University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
⁴² METIS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE, Université PSL, CNRS, Paris, 75005, France.
⁴³ European Union Drugs Agency, Lisbon, Portugal.

PMID: 40014941
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2025.02.009

Abstract

Objectives: Illicit drug use presents a significant challenge to global health and public safety, requiring innovative and effective monitoring strategies. This study aimed to evaluate the current landscape of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for monitoring illicit drugs in Europe, focusing on collaboration, current practices, and barriers, while identifying opportunities for improvement.

Study design: Cross-sectional survey-based study.

Methods: Coordinated by the Sewage Analysis CORe Group Europe (SCORE) and the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA), two surveys were conducted in 2023 targeting researchers and stakeholders using WBE for illicit drugs. Data were analysed to identify trends, gaps, and opportunities for improving WBE implementation.

Results: The findings indicate a robust research infrastructure and diverse analytical methods among European institutions. Two-thirds of the participating countries reported using WBE data to inform policy. However, challenges persist, particularly in securing funding and coordination, as well as generating national estimates from multiple locations and addressing specific local policy needs.

Conclusions: WBE has proven to be a valuable tool for monitoring illicit drug trends and informing drug policies. To unlock its full potential, sustained funding, methodological standardization, and enhanced cooperation are essential. This study provides critical insights into the European WBE landscape, offering a roadmap for strengthening the integration of actionable WBE data into public health and policy frameworks.

Keywords: Cooperation; Europe; Illicit drugs; New psychoactive substances; Policy; Public health; Wastewater-based Epidemiology.

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Bridging the gap between research and decision making: A European survey to enhance cooperation in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for illicit drugs

Affiliations

Bridging the gap between research and decision making: A European survey to enhance cooperation in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for illicit drugs

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract

MeSH terms

Substances

LinkOut - more resources

Full Text Sources

Medical

Miscellaneous