Call for expressions of interest: Technical Advisory Group on Wastewater and Environmental Surveillance for Public Health - World Health Organization (WHO)

We’re sharing this article early to provide faster access to peer-reviewed, accepted research. It is citable and carries a permanent DOI. This version is subject to further edits and will be replaced automatically by the final Version of Record. All legal disclaimers apply. AbstractInfluenza A viruses (IAV) remain a persistent One Health threat, and whole-genome sequencing from wastewater offers a promising surveillance tool. However, IAV is at low abundance in wastewater, making it difficult to sequence. We benchmark four targeted enrichment methods suited for multi-subtype whole-genome IAV sequencing including custom and off-the-shelf methods. Our custom HA tiled-amplicon panel is sensitive, fast, and cost-effective, making it suitable for monitoring low-abundance seasonal variants of known subtypes, although its reliance on conserved and intact primer-binding sites limits primer design to fewer subtypes. A published universal amplicon method targets all IAV subtypes but performs poorly in wastewater due to its reliance on intact genome segments. Meanwhile, probe-capture methods are resilient to RNA degradation.

A small Saskatchewan city is making a name for itself, but not the one it wants to be known by. Prince Albert had the highest recorded levels of methamphetamine and cocaine in its wastewater between January 2024 and March 2026, according to data from Statistics Canada. The concentration of traces of methamphetamine in wastewater across the city decreased from July to November 2025, before peaking at just over 2,000 milligrams per day per 1,000 people in March. Prince Albert is one of only two cities with a concentration more than 1,000 milligrams per day per 1,000 people. The other city was Moncton, N. B., recorded in January. Saskatoon has the third highest concentration of methamphetamine in its wastewater with 957 milligrams per day per 1,000 people in March. Story continues below advertisement

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