Good Ethical and Laboratory Practices for Wastewater Surveillance

Abstract

Wastewater Surveillance (WBS) is an approach for disease surveillance involving the screening of wastewater for RNA/DNA originating from infectious agents. In recent years, WBS has expanded to include analytes from pharmaceuticals (such as SSRI) or illicit drugs, referred to as "High-risk Substances" (HRS). The University of Maryland enacted in partnership with a local county public health department and water utility, a surveillance program to assess wastewater twice weekly for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and other viral targets. WBS can provide rapid data showing where the location of clustered outbreaks may be occurring (specifically. The county public health department also requested that screening of high-risk substances (fentanyl, ketamine, Narcan, heroine, etc.) to be included in WBS, thus expanding the purview of the initial surveillance project focusing solely biological agents. A concern for any surveillance program is adhering to ethical standards, regulations, and protocols. In WBS, there is no single standardized "list of rules" to guide researchers in determining risk of privacy or community stigmatization. In an effort to counter the variation in WBS as it pertains to ethical standards, we propose utilizing an ethical scoring framework tailored for WBS. This framework includes a scoresheet that can assist scientists determine the privacy and ethical risks associated with their study by introducing a quantifiable process to assess ethical compliance. Furthermore, we include a flow map outlining standard laboratory practices under the lens of how each step assists in maintaining sample fidelity, thus increasing the robustness and reliability of the data generated. SUMMARY: It is important to balance ethical standards, public health and research strategies. Application of the tools listed in this document will ensure this balance. Application of the developed ethical guidelines (Score sheet) is a practical approach. It is important to integrate vigorous data management practices. Utilization of a robust and holistic structure of the wastewater surveillance program will ensure successful outcomes.

FIGURE 1

Flow‐map for following good laboratory/good ethical practice. This flow‐map outlines the practices followed in the UMD laboratory. The central column represents crucial steps of the sampling process. Each central step includes good laboratory practices (GLP) that are meant to maintain sample fidelity, including storage temperatures, record keeping, and general quality control (QC) practices. Although these practices would fall under GLP rather than ethical standards, QC checks are crucial for generating reliable data, which is a core pillar when attempting to establish good ethical practice.