The Ministry of Health of the Nation published the first special report on the surveillance of viral enteropathogens in the wastewater of the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area (AMBA), with the aim of early detection of health events in large populations. This analysis, disseminated through the National Epidemiological Bulletin (BEN), is part of the strategy that the National Institute of Infectious Diseases (INEI) of ANLIS-Malbrán carries out in conjunction with Aguas y Saneamientos Argentinos (AySA) to strengthen surveillance. Through a press release, the health ministry stated that the strategy is based on the analysis of water samples entering the five treatment plants that serve the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and various districts of the Buenos Aires outskirts: Northern Treatment Plant, Hurlingham Treatment Plant, Southwest Treatment Plant, El Jagüel Treatment Plant, and Berazategui Treatment Plant. According to the first report, which details results obtained from February 2024 to August 2025, the presence of viral enteropathogens (viruses affecting the intestinal tract causing acute gastroenteritis) was analyzed. The results revealed that Norovirus and Enteric Adenovirus were the pathogens with the highest detection frequency, circulating sustainably and homogeneously throughout the metropolitan area without a marked seasonal pattern. Likewise, the constant presence of Sapovirus and Astrovirus, two viruses that cause acute gastroenteritis especially in children and are not mandatory for clinical reporting, was identified. The report also highlights that after continuous detections were registered in 2024, an absence of this virus was observed in all samples taken in 2025. This indicates that the virus ceased to circulate actively in the general population (including asymptomatic individuals), and optimizes the response to other emerging pathogens.
