RIGA, April 24 (LETA) - Latvia has raised EUR 15 million to develop a wastewater monitoring platform for public health surveillance, LETA was told at the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre.

Latvian scientists, led by Professor Janis Klovins, took part in the Teaming for Excellence project competition under the European Union's (EU) Horizon Europe research and innovation framework program. After two rounds of evaluation, the project has been nominated for funding, raising EUR 15 million, and the contract preparation process is already underway.

The idea was developed by the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre in collaboration with Riga Technical University (RTU), the Scientific Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment BIOR, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), and the University of Dundee.

The main objective of the project is to establish an integrated platform for the monitoring and research of the environment and human health, which would allow not only systematic monitoring of the environment, but also determining how different environmental factors affect human health. An essential part of the project is to link environmental data with observations in human populations, existing cohort studies, and clinical trials to provide a more complete picture of how the environment affects disease risks, health status, and quality of life, the authors of the project say.

One of the key elements of the project is the creation of a digital twin of the whole system, the researchers explain. This will serve as an integrated and dynamic tool to bring together data on environmental processes, microbiological and chemical risks and their relationship to human health observations. The digital twin will allow real-time monitoring of what is happening in the system, modeling of possible scenarios, and more effective early warning, analysis, and decision-making.

Scientists explain that an important foundation for the development of such an approach has already been laid in Latvia. This is based on Covid-19 monitoring in wastewater, which involves several Latvian institutions, including the Latvian Biomedical Research and Study Centre, RTU, and BIOR. The project will significantly extend this experience.

Scientists explain that this is an opportunity for Latvia to become one of the first countries in Europe to implement such a comprehensive approach to integrating environmental and health data over the next six years. Such a system would serve not only for public health surveillance and safety but also for science-based decision-making, prevention, and the development of new research directions, they explain.

Klovins, chairman of the Scientific Council of the Latvian Centre for Biomedical Research and Studies, stresses that such a project and integrated approach will not only allow early detection of risks of infection, antibiotic resistance or chemical contamination, but also a much better understanding of how these risks affect people in different populations and clinical situations. Combining environmental monitoring with human health data and the power of the digital twin will allow more accurate identification of sources, pathways, and potential impacts of risks, and more timely and informed decisions to protect public health.

Under the terms of the call for proposals, Latvia must provide equal funding for the research project. The national co-funding will be covered by the EU structural funds for science available to Latvia, with part of the financing earmarked for the development of new research and surveillance infrastructure.