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State public‑health team tells Fort Collins council how wastewater testing tracks community disease trends
Summary
A Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment official told the Fort Collins City Council that the state's wastewater surveillance program provides early warning of disease trends — testing for COVID, flu, RSV, enterovirus D68, measles and, soon, West Nile — and uses a 21‑site sentinel model and public dashboard to inform local responses.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) told the Fort Collins City Council on Tuesday that wastewater sampling gives communities an early, noninvasive signal of infectious‑disease trends and helps public‑health officials allocate resources.
Leslie Hill, Fort Collins’ Water Quality Services Division director, introduced Lisonbee Wheeler, manager of CDPHE’s wastewater surveillance unit, who said the program began in August 2020 and now uses a sentinel model that monitors 21 wastewater utilities across Colorado and additional emergency surveillance sites for rapid activation.
“By analyzing wastewater samples, we can determine disease trends for communities,”…
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