Wastewater Tests Can Find Mpox

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.