Augustine, Swinburne A. J. Microbial Exposure Research Branch, Microbiological and Chemical Exposure Research Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Simmons, Kaneatra Microbial Exposure Research Branch, Microbiological and Chemical Exposure Research Division, National Exposure Research Laboratory, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cincinnati, Ohio.
Water is our most important resource, and ensuring its safety, security, and sustainability is a global priority. Of almost equal importance is the protection of the global community from microbiological and chemical contaminants in our drinking and recreational water sources. The ability to easily identify exposures to waterborne pathogens has a critical role in understanding the public health implications associated with these pathogens. Methods that are rapid, cost-effective, sensitive, use a noninvasively collected matrix, and can detect multiple pathogens simultaneously would greatly facilitate the ability to collect this type of information. The saliva-based multiplex immunoassay method described below may represent significant improvements to these concerns.