The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently unveiled new wastewater data tracking dashboard to make it easier to track local and national trends, even by variant. Wastewater tracking is one of the early indicators health officials use to gauge the activity of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses.
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Called the National Wastewater Surveillance Program, the main page says that, nationally, wastewater viral activity of COVID is high.
On Twitter (X), Niall Brennan, MPP, senior adviser to the CDC's director, said the makeover was done over a 4-week period by a team informally called "Poo's Clues." He added that the goal was to reimagine how to present the data and improve the visualizations, which were previously underwhelming.
Mpox viruses also tracked
Wastewater tracking users can now see national trends in 1-year, 6-month, and 45-day increments and examine regional and local trends. The new portal also has maps showing wastewater viral activity levels and shows shifts in variants over time.
"It was fun and fast paced and my thanks to the incredible team at CDC who willingly ripped up the rule book in the process of making this incredible resource more accessible to a wider audience. Much more to come!," Brennan said.
Amy Kirby, PhD, MPH, a microbiologist and epidemiologist who is part of the CDC team, pointed out on Twitter that the dashboard also includes mpox wastewater tracking.