Milwaukee health officials show how they track respiratory illnesses by testing wastewater

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- We're getting an inside look at how Milwaukee health officials track respiratory illnesses, by testing wastewater samples. 

It is a process that's been rolled out in all 50 states and was one of the keys to tracking COVID-19 cases during the height of the pandemic. 

Even today, it plays a central role in preventing viruses from spreading and getting people sick. 

"These are things that if we know that they're on the rise people can take actions like hand washing, like immunization, like masking to prevent them," said David Payne, laboratory director with the Milwaukee Health Department. 

According to the CDC, this kind of testing also helps track emerging threats, like mutations that drove rapidly evolving variants.