Wastewater-based epidemiology provides a noninvasive, objective way to estimate community-level drug consumption and validate patterns of drug use. Mapping local patterns can help identify high-risk populations, geographic hotspots, and emerging behavioral trends, supporting targeted, evidence-based, and culturally relevant public health interventions. Although widely used in European cities, wastewater surveillance can be especially valuable in rural areas, where access to drug rehabilitation and other services may be limited.
Dr. Kurunthachalam Kannan’s laboratory in the Wadsworth Center’s Division of Environmental Health Sciences conducted a wastewater-based epidemiology study at six rural wastewater treatment plants in central New York State. Researchers analyzed 70 drugs and drug metabolites, including opioids, benzodiazepines, stimulants, cannabinoids, novel stimulants and hallucinogens, xylazine, and gabapentin. Eight benzodiazepines, three cannabinoids, 17 opioids, five stimulants, xylazine, and gabapentin were frequently detected. Cannabis, fentanyl, and lorazepam were among the most prevalent substances in the communities studied. Wastewater-based estimates of fentanyl doses were 100 to 1,000 times higher than estimates derived from prescription information, demonstrating the value of wastewater surveillance in assessing the magnitude of drug use. The study also detected novel psychoactive substances, including fluorofentanyl, providing a near-real-time view of changing drug-use patterns.
Link to publication: https://pubs.acs.org/aewcaa/article/6/8/5280/5226310/Occurrence-Mass-Loading-and-Wastewater-Based