From 2-4 December 2025, public health professionals, researchers, and policymakers from fifteen countries in Asia convened in Bangkok, Thailand for the “Asia-Pacific regional workshop on wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) for public health.” This workshop was co-organised by the WHO South-East Asia Region (WHO-SEARO), WHO Western Pacific Region (WHO-WPRO), the Ministry of Public Health, Thailand, and the National Institute of Health, Thailand, with support from the European Union, Gates Foundation, and Institute of Philanthropy. The workshop aimed to strengthen regional capacities in WES, foster knowledge exchange, and accelerate the integration of WES into public health surveillance systems.
Dr. Vincent Pang presenting an overview of the current regional WES landscape.
Opening the conversation on WES - a global and regional view
The workshop began with an exploration of WES as a surveillance tool for addressing emerging and endemic public health threats, including its advantages, limitations, and opportunities. From the Duke-NUS Centre for Outbreak Preparedness (COP), Assistant Professor Vincent Pang presented an overview of the current regional WES landscape, connecting key insights from country poster sessions during the workshop as well as landscape mapping conducted by the Asia Pathogen Genomics Initiative. These posters sparked engaging peer-to-peer exchanges, offering a window into national strategies, successes, and ongoing challenges. Panel discussions addressed the realities of institutionalising WES, sharing lessons learned in integrating these systems within broader disease surveillance platforms.
Practical demonstrations by the National Institute of Health, Thailand, on the full WES workflow for poliovirus wastewater surveillance.
Practical demonstrations and case studies
Practical demonstrations led by the National Institute of Health, Thailand, walked participants through the full WES workflow for poliovirus wastewater surveillance—from site identification and sample collection to laboratory processing and data analysis. Case studies illustrated real-world WES applications, covering topics such as integration with clinical surveillance, implementation in non-sewered environments, data governance, ethical considerations, and sustainable financing.
Dr. Vincent Pang (fourth from right) and Dr. Judith Wong (third from right) contributing as expert panelists on the translation of the WES framework into actionable plans.
Translating frameworks into plans and actions
The heart of the workshop was a series of hands-on exercises built around pathogen prioritisation, protocol operationalisation, and integration of WES into wider surveillance systems. Dr. Vincent Pang and Adjunct Associate Professor Dr. Judith Wong contributed as expert panelists to facilitate the translation of this framework into sustainable country plans. Participants worked in country groups to apply the framework in their local context by:
- Identifying priority pathogens for WES based on public health priorities, for both endemic and epidemic threats
- Assessing the technical and operational feasibility for each candidate pathogen, including local infrastructure and expertise
- Evaluating ethical and community acceptability considerations, ensuring that WES strategies are both effective and trusted by communities
- Identifying key factors for integrating WES into broader, multi-modal surveillance systems to maximise value and impact
- Synthesising outputs into draft recommendations, specifying which pathogens and use cases to prioritise and outlining further research, data, and resource needs.
COP members Ms Ashley Tsai and Ms Yimei Sun also facilitated country discussions to encourage deeper exploration of these considerations at each step. This collaborative, iterative process enabled participants to systematically evaluate the strategic, operational, and technical aspects of implementing WES, learning from one another.
Looking forward
The workshop closed with a forward-looking session, inviting participants to reflect on the knowledge gained and provide feedback on the WHO framework tool. Discussions centred on next steps for regional collaboration, action planning, and sustainable capacity building. Closing remarks highlighted the critical role of WES as an innovative, responsive component of collaborative public health surveillance system—and participants left with valuable connections, practical frameworks, and concrete steps to advance WES in their countries.