An Academia-Industry-Government Partnership That Monitors and Predicts Outbreaks in the Tri-County Detroit Area

Irene Xagoraraki, College of Engineering
CDM Smith
Detroit Health Department
Detroit Water and Sewerage Department
Great Lakes Water Authority
Macomb County Health Division
Oakland County Health Division

The Tri-County Detroit Area (TCDA) is the 12th most populous metropolitan area in the United States, with over 3 million people. Multiple communicable diseases are endemic in the TCDA. In 2017, to explore innovative methods that may provide early warnings of outbreaks affecting populations in the TCDA, Xagoraraki initiated an exploratory partnership funded by a U.S. National Science Foundation EArly-Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER). The project team included the College of Engineering at Michigan State University, the City of Detroit, the Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA), industry, and local government and health departments. The team has been testing municipal wastewater from the TCDA to survey communicable diseases in the area. 

The TCDA partnership, led by Xagoraraki, resulted in significant breakthroughs in the field of wastewater-based epidemiology, including multiple methodological advancements. The results of the TCDA wastewater surveillance efforts assist local health departments (City of Detroit and Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties) in their efforts to prevent and manage communicable diseases, public health messaging, targeted clinical testing, and vaccination efforts. The data are available to the public, and all methodological advancements are published and have been used by other communities nationwide and beyond.