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Targeted wastewater surveillance during the 18th World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon, USA, in 2022 detected influenza A virus, SARS-CoV-2, and hepatitis A virus. Poliovirus detections were inconclusive. Influenza B, hepatitis E, and measles viruses and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus were not detected. Wastewater surveillance augments traditional surveillance to mitigate risks associated with large multinational gatherings.
During July 15–24, 2022, the University of Oregon (Eugene, Oregon, USA) hosted the 18th World Athletics Championships. More than 1,700 athletes from 179 nations competed, and ≈54,000 persons attended the first 3 days of the event ( 1 , 2 ). During the event, Oregon Health Authority, in collaboration with Oregon State University, Lane County Health and Human Services, University of Oregon, and the city of Eugene, implemented targeted wastewater testing for common or high-consequence pathogens unlikely to be detected through existing surveillance mechanisms: SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B viruses, hepatitis A and E viruses, measles virus, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and poliovirus.
Figure 1 . Flow of wastewater and sampling locations during the World Athletics Championship, Eugene, Oregon, USA, 2022. Locations indicate A, Eugene Airport area; B, city of Eugene before water flow enters the...
We adapted Oregon Health Authority and Oregon State University’s existing wastewater surveillance system for the event. Wastewater samples were collected from Eugene’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent and 8 microsewershed sites relevant to the event ( Figure 1 ; Appendix Figure). We initiated surveillance ≈2 weeks before the event and continued through 4 weeks after the event (June 28–August 23, 2022). Wastewater samples were collected daily during the event, 2× times/week for 2 weeks before and after the event, and 1× time/week during the final 2 weeks of the surveillance period. We analyzed wastewater data in R Studio version 4.3.1 ( https://rstudio.com/products/rstudio ). We published results to a public-facing dashboard within 24 hours. We did not make poliovirus results publicly available because confirmatory testing was negative.
We concentrated 24-hour composite wastewater samples, extracted nucleic acids, and quantified viral concentrations, as previously described ( 3 ), and conducted droplet digital reverse transcription PCR (ddRT-PCR) ( Appendix Tables 1–3). We sequenced samples that contained > 4.0 log 10 gene copies/L of SARS-CoV-2, as previously described ( 4 ). We analyzed all samples and controls in duplicate, using a limit of detection of 3 droplets for positive samples and controls.
We evaluated in silico cross-reactivity of the poliovirus ddRT-PCRs against 164 reference genomes obtained from the National Center for Biotechnology Information Virus database ( https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/virus ), representing 12 enterovirus C types known to have cross-reactivity with other poliovirus assays. We conducted those analyses using Geneious Prime version 2025.2.2 software…