Kick-off Meeting of the Wastewater Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention (WaSPP)

The Kick-off Meeting of the Wastewater Surveillance for Pandemic Prevention (WaSPP) was officially held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Balai PALPJK DIY, and FK-KMK UGM, Yogyakarta, from Monday, January 20, 2025, to Wednesday, January 22, 2025. This event marked the launch of the WaSPP consortium, which aims to develop a wastewater surveillance system to detect pathogens with pandemic potential.

The meeting was attended by researchers from world-renowned institutions, including Imperial College London (UK), University of Warwick (UK), Biosurv International (UK), University of Edinburgh (UK), Institut Pasteur du Cambodge (Cambodia), Universiti Malaya (Malaysia), Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Malaysia), Institut National de Recherche Biomédicale (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (Ghana), Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (Australia), Duke-NUS Medical School (Singapore), the Gates Foundation (USA), and the Institute of Philanthropy (Hong Kong SAR, China).

dr. Vicka Oktaria, MPH, PhD, FRSPH, as the Principal Investigator of Indonesia, leads the event.

This initiative is led by Prof. Nicholas Grassly from Imperial College London in collaboration with UGM as the host institution, with dr. Vicka Oktaria, MPH, PhD, FRSPH serving as the Principal Investigator (PI), Prof. dr. Indah Kartika Murni, M.Kes., Sp.A., Subsp. Cardio (K)., PhD., drh. M. Th. Khrisdiana Putri, MP, PhD., and dr. Riris Andono Ahmad, MPH, PhD. as the Co-PI, as well as Prof. dr. Titik Nuryastuti, M.Si., PhD., Sp.MK(K) as consultant in Microbiology. The meeting was also attended by Prof. dr. Yodi Mahendradhata, M.Sc., Ph.D., FRSPH, Dean of FK-KMK UGM, who delivered an opening speech.

The primary objectives of this meeting were to:

• Launch the WaSPP Consortium as an official collaboration platform among key stakeholders.
• Develop a draft protocol outlining the research plan, including the formation of working groups for key topics such as laboratory methods, bioinformatics, phylogenetic analysis, ethics, and reporting.

The researchers discuss, form working groups, and shared expertise within the WaSPP consortium.

The three-day event followed this agenda:

• Day 1: Introduction to current research of participating institutions.
• Day 2: Working Group discussions focusing on ethics, reporting, and stakeholders; development of a Target Product Profile (TPP); laboratory methods; site selection for sampling; strengthening the WaSPP network capacity; clinical surveillance; bioinformatics framework design; and research logistics.
• Day 3: Site visits to wastewater surveillance sampling locations in Yogyakarta, including Balai PALPJK DIY and IPAL Komunal Jaranan Lor.

Urbanization, population growth, and climate change have increased the risk of global infectious disease pandemics, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with limited clinical surveillance capacity. Wastewater surveillance (WS) offers a scalable and cost-effective approach to detecting potential pandemic pathogens, even in asymptomatic infections. However, its full potential remains unrealised due to resource limitations, inconsistent laboratory protocols, and challenges in integrating WS with mainstream health surveillance systems. The WaSPP Consortium aims to develop innovative solutions to overcome these challenges and strengthen pandemic prevention systems in the future.

A visit by representatives to the wastewater surveillance sampling location in Yogyakarta.

The Kick-off Meeting of WaSPP not only marked a crucial milestone in global collaboration but also served as a strategic step in optimizing wastewater surveillance as an early pandemic detection tool. By engaging experts from various disciplines and countries, this project is expected to make a significant contribution to global pandemic prevention efforts.

The WaSPP project supports the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by strengthening health surveillance (SDG 3), enhancing education (SDG 4), fostering global partnerships (SDG 17), developing innovative technologies (SDG 9), improving sanitation (SDG 6), and reducing health inequalities (SDG 10) to prevent future pandemics.

Writer: Iskran Rahman

Editor: Rizka Dinari, Tabbasum Iqbal and Rooney Fong