Establishing Wastewater Public Health Surveillance in Malawi

CHAWS has set up multi-pathogen community wastewater surveillance in Malawi and is working to create and share blueprints that will help other low-resource communities speed public health response.

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Collaboration with Malawi University of Science and Technology 

UofL has partnered with the Malawi University of Science and Technology (MUST) to set up multi-pathogen baseline testing. Through this partnership, we collect weekly wastewater surveillance at five sites in Southern Malawi. 

Visit Malawi University of Science and Technology

Current Wastewater and Environmental Sampling (WES) Research Pathogens 

  • Influenza A
  • Influenza B
  • Measles
  • Salmonella Typhi
  • Respiratory syncytial virus
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Vibrio cholerae
  • Yellow fever 

Girls’ Science Day

We have held two Girls’ Science Days serving more than 500 girls in total. A major focus of the program was Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) jobs under the wastewater, sanitation, and virus themes. Typically, STEM exposure is very limited for these girls and mostly consists of rote memorization for exams. For many of the girls, this would be the first program with hands-on demonstrations, tours, and motivational speeches that they’ve ever experienced and the first female scientists they’ve ever met. We have received so much positive feedback from this program, from students and their teachers alike, as well as heartfelt requests to continue hosting an annual Girls’ Science Day program. 

Supporting the UN Refugee Agency

Since November 2023, we have served as a technical advisor visit to the Dzaleka refugee camp to support the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) on the establishment of wastewater surveillance. 

The camp, which is terribly overcrowded, is home to 50,000 refugees, mostly from other African countries experiencing war or severe unrest. Healthcare access is limited. The plan is to use wastewater-based epidemiology as an early warning system to detect disease spread. We are excited the UNCHR has asked to learn from the University of Louisville based on our past work at Southern Malawi sampling sites. It is hard and messy work to make healthier communities, and it is an honor to be recognized for our scientific knowledge and expertise. 

SOS International Partnership

We have established a partnership with SOS International, based in Louisville, Kentucky, to match surplus medical supplies to public health needs at the sites partnering with our wastewater pathogen detection research.