Laboratory Evaluation of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Wastewater: Expanding Pathogen Targets for Regulatory Public Health Surveillance
- 1University of Illinois Chicago
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become a cornerstone of public health surveillance, yet routine regulatory monitoring remains largely focused on respiratory viruses and selecting antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Emerging foodborne parasites, such as Cyclospora cayetanensis, remain excluded from standard environmental surveillance panels despite increasing domestic outbreaks. This study presents a laboratory-based pilot protocol evaluating the feasibility of extracting and quantifying C. cayetanensis from urban wastewater across the Chicago metropolitan area. Using sample concentration via centrifugation and mechanical bead-beating, automated magnetic bead nucleic acid extraction, and digital PCR (dPCR), we demonstrate high-sensitivity detection in municipal influents and sewer nodes. These findings establish a proof-of-concept laboratory methodology to support the expansion of regulatory public health surveillance frameworks to include non-routine protozoan pathogens.
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BibTeX
@misc{lin2026laboratory,
title = {{Laboratory Evaluation of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Wastewater: Expanding Pathogen Targets for Regulatory Public Health Surveillance}},
author = {C.-Y. Lin and D. S. Gonzalez and R. S. Poretsky},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.08.26364996},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26364996v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Laboratory Evaluation of Cyclospora cayetanensis in Wastewater: Expanding Pathogen Targets for Regulatory Public Health Surveillance
AU - C.-Y. Lin
AU - D. S. Gonzalez
AU - R. S. Poretsky
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/08
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.08.26364996
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.08.26364996v1
AB - Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has become a cornerstone of public health surveillance, yet routine regulatory monitoring remains largely focused on respiratory viruses and selecting antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Emerging foodborne parasites, such as Cyclospora cayetanensis, remain excluded from standard environmental surveillance panels despite increasing domestic outbreaks. This study presents a laboratory-based pilot protocol evaluating the feasibility of extracting and quantifying C. cayetanensis from urban wastewater across the Chicago metropolitan area. Using sample concentration via centrifugation and mechanical bead-beating, automated magnetic bead nucleic acid extraction, and digital PCR (dPCR), we demonstrate high-sensitivity detection in municipal influents and sewer nodes. These findings establish a proof-of-concept laboratory methodology to support the expansion of regulatory public health surveillance frameworks to include non-routine protozoan pathogens.
ER -