Research from the University of Costa Rica presented at ISEE 2026 in Munich explores viral surveillance in wastewater and the effects of temperature extremes on respiratory infections, contributing evidence from Costa Rica to the field of environmental epidemiology.
Research conducted at the University of Costa Rica is gaining visibility in international scientific spaces where two increasingly interconnected challenges converge: population health and environmental change.
At the annual conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE 2026), held in Munich, Germany, from August 30 to September 2, Dr. Luz María Chacón Jiménez, a researcher at the University of Costa Rica’s Institute for Health Research (INISA), presented two studies addressing public health questions through environmental and epidemiological perspectives.
The studies explore, from different angles, how environmental information can provide new insights into disease occurrence: one through wastewater-based viral surveillance and the other through the analysis of the relationship between temperature and respiratory infections.
The study “Beyond Single-Pathogen Models: Viral Mixtures and Diarrheal Trends in Wastewater Surveillance” was presented by Dr. Chacón as a Flash Talk and is part of research project C3511, which focuses on developing a wastewater-based strategy for viral pathogen surveillance in Costa Rica.
The research moves beyond the analysis of individual pathogens. Using a statistical mixture-analysis approach, the study examines multiple viruses detected in wastewater simultaneously and estimates their relative contributions to the overall signal associated with diarrhea cases reported by the healthcare system.
This approach addresses an important challenge in epidemiological surveillance: several viruses may circulate simultaneously within a population, while clinical records often classify cases syndromically as diarrheal disease without systematically identifying the causative pathogen.
In this context, wastewater provides a population-level source of information that can complement traditional surveillance systems and offer new perspectives for interpreting patterns of infectious disease circulation.
Project C3511 receives support from the Vice-Rectorate for Research of the University of Costa Rica, as well as international support from the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), through the International Training Program in Environmental Health over the Lifespan, awarded to the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica.
The second study, “Bias of the Thermal Mean: Extremes Matter for Acute Respiratory Infections Risk (Liberia, Costa Rica, 2009–2023)”, was presented during a Poster Discussion session.
The research, conducted collaboratively by INISA and the School of Health Technologies at the University of Costa Rica, analyzed epidemiological and meteorological data from Liberia, Guanacaste, covering the period from 2009 to 2023.
The findings highlight the importance of considering temperature extremes and their delayed effects when examining the relationship between climate conditions and respiratory infections, rather than relying solely on mean temperature values.
In particular, lower minimum temperatures were associated with a subsequent increase in the risk of respiratory infections. This study was recently published at the International Journal of Environmental Health Research and it can be accessed following this link.
Evidence generated in Liberia contributes a tropical and Latin American perspective to the scientific discussion on climate and health, while underscoring the importance of accounting for the environmental and climatic characteristics of each region.
Although the two studies use different approaches, they share a common premise: understanding human health also requires understanding the environments in which populations live.
Wastewater surveillance can provide population-level information on viral circulation, while the integration of epidemiological and meteorological data can help researchers examine how temperature variability and extremes may be associated with respiratory disease.
These approaches expand the possibilities of public health research by integrating sources of information that are often examined separately. They also demonstrate the potential of environmental epidemiology to generate evidence relevant to specific settings and to contribute to the development of new surveillance and research tools.
The participation of UCR researchers at ISEE 2026 also provided an opportunity to bring evidence generated in Costa Rica to an international scientific community while exchanging experiences with specialists from different countries.
The two studies further illustrate the value of strengthening research through the public university system through institutional research projects, national and international cooperation, and collaboration across academic disciplines.
In particular, the collaboration between INISA and the School of Health Technologies demonstrates how interdisciplinary research can address complex questions at the intersection of environment and health.
From this perspective, the value of these studies extends beyond data on disease or environmental variables. They also contribute to strengthening scientific research capacity in Costa Rica and to positioning knowledge generated by the country’s public university within international discussions on the environmental and health challenges facing populations.
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