Wastewater-based epidemiology approach;Bibliometric analysis to identify active countries,applications, and new area of research

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) or wastewater-based surveillance analyzes wastewater todetermine the consumption of, or exposure to, chemicals or pathogens in a population. This methodis also used to determine and measure disease prevalence and health status in a society. WBE canprovide information on the concurrent analysis of pollutants or drugs in several places in the worldperiodically and for several years, hence it provides long-term datasets. In this study, substances wereclassified into ۹ groups: illicit drugs; licit drugs; pharmaceuticals; personal care products (PCPs);pesticides; plasticizers; SARS-COV-۲; pathogen biomonitoring, and others. The results of the analysisshow that the USA, Australia, and China were the top countries, corresponding with almost one-thirdof the publications in this field. The focus of WBE studies before ۲۰۱۵ was mostly on illicit drugs andpharmaceuticals; but in recent years, studies around environmental pollutants and SARS-COV-۲ areincreasing. Estimation of pollutants, such as pesticides, personal care products and plasticizers, wereidentified as a new application. By assessing the exposure to pollutants, it is possible to assess the riskin a community and evaluate the spatiotemporal variation and trends. Although WBE is a relativelysimple concept, but some factors can affect its reliability and cause uncertainties in estimatingexposure to or consumption of chemicals. These factors are sampling techniques, biomarker selection(being stable in wastewater and excreted at detectable amounts), lack of correction factor (CE),estimation of the population covered by the treatment plant and lack of access to the sewer network.Data provided in this study enable scholars to identify the emerging area and can be a valuableresource for gaining insights on the WBE studies in the world for continuing this approach.

Keywords:

Wastewater-based epidemiology , bibliometric study , application , environmental exposure