Wastewater tests can find mpox, study finds. Expect more bugs to be tracked that way

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — New research bolsters a push to use sewage to track more diseases in the U.S. Wastewater testing does a good job at detecting mpox infections. That’s according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study released Thursday. It found that over the course of a week, there was a 32% likelihood the tests would detect the presence of at least one person infected with mpox in a population ranging from thousands to millions. The testing is now a staple of COVID-19 tracking. And CDC is now using it for flu and RSV too. Soon, the agency plans to start watching for germs that are resistant to antibiotics and some food poisoning bugs.