CWSS-IS: A Technical Framework for Digitalized Wastewater Surveillance-Information System Structure, Data Standards,...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Environmental Science
• Infectious Disease Surveillance

Background:

• Wastewater monitoring is crucial for public health, complementing traditional disease surveillance.
• Integrating wastewater data enhances infectious disease tracking and response capabilities.
• China's unified digital infrastructure facilitated the development of a national system.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and implement the Information System for the Chinese Urban Wastewater Surveillance System (CWSS-IS).
• To establish a unified platform for national wastewater-based epidemiology.
• To improve efficiency, security, and scalability of infectious disease monitoring.

Main Methods:

• Development of the CWSS-IS based on China CDC's digital infrastructure.
• Inclusion of modules for monitoring sites, sample collection, physicochemical indicators, lab results, and sequencing data.
• Standardization of data collection, processing, and quality control (QC) rules.

Main Results:

• National launch in February 2024, covering 169 cities with over 3,000 users.
• Collection of 118,729 wastewater samples by January 2026.
• Demonstrated significant improvements in efficiency, convenience, security, and scalability over previous methods.

Conclusions:

• The CWSS-IS provides valuable insights into infectious disease prevalence, informing public health initiatives.
• The system serves as a model for developing regional wastewater monitoring information systems.
• Future work should focus on data fusion, AI, and computational platforms for enhanced early warning.