Public health professionals are anxious about the coming fall and winter. Last year, the combination of COVID-19, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and influenza (the flu) overwhelmed America's hospitals and emergency rooms, with the CDC stating the toll from flu alone between October 2022 to April 2023 may have caused upwards of 98,000 deaths. That’s a historically bad winter, even without the threat of COVID.
This year, another "tripledemic" seems inevitable–unless we proactively work to prevent and prepare for it. By monitoring the population for RSV and the flu before the season starts, we can respond fast when it is needed. The crucial tool we have to do this lies within each and every one of us—literally. Every time we flush, we are sending out into the world a sample that can provide a vital measure of the population’s health.
