Wastewater monitoring dashboard: Respiratory virus activity

This dashboard provides data about COVID-19, flu, RSV and mpox virus levels in wastewater.

  • Last updated: 2024-10-08

We update this information on Tuesdays and Fridays at 12:00 noon Eastern Time. In the event of a holiday, we update on the next business day. Data at some sites may lag for a week or more, due to the time it takes to transport and analyze samples. This report was last updated on October 13, 2024 with data up to and including October 5, 2024.

On this page

National viral activity levels

These tiles summarize recent overall activity levels of COVID-19, flu and RSV based on data from wastewater sites across Canada.

The viral activity level
of COVID-19 is {{}}
The viral activity level
of Flu A is {{}}
The viral activity level
of Flu B is {{}}
The viral activity level
of RSV is {{}}
About these data tiles

The activity levels of COVID-19, flu and RSV are determined using the following activity level index. For more details on the calculation of signal level and signal trend metrics, please refer to the technical notes.

Visual representation of viral activity level broken down by signal level and signal trend. See definitions below for the full definitions.
  • High activity level means:
    • viral signals are high compared to values over the past year, or
    • viral signals are moderate compared to values over the past year, and the recent trend is increasing
  • Moderate activity level means:
    • viral signals are moderate compared to values over the past year, and the recent trend is decreasing or stable, or
    • viral signals are low compared to values over the past year and the recent trend is increasing
  • Low activity level means:
    • viral signals are low compared to values over the past year, and the recent trend is decreasing or stable, or
    • viral signals are below the threshold for detection, and the recent trend is increasing
  • No detection activity level means:
    • viral signals are below the threshold for detection and the recent trend is decreasing or stable

National overview

Figure 1. Current wastewater viral activity levels in Canada

Zoom or tap regions to see respiratory virus activity levels in Canada. Map data is available in .csv format.

Data from {} sites are included on this dashboard.


Figure 1: Text description
Notes
  • This information is based on wastewater samples submitted for testing to the National Microbiology Laboratory or a participating partner laboratory.
  • The National Microbiology Laboratory conducts testing for over 70 sites across Canada, with partner laboratories conducting testing for other sites. Data from 60 sites is included on this dashboard. Site selection and the decision to publish results on the dashboard is always at the discretion of provinces, territories and municipalities.
  • Newly onboarded sites need approximately 12 months of wastewater data before an accurate activity level metric can be determined. Sites with less than 12 months of data, excluding non-detects, are marked with an asterisk (*). Non-detects are when the virus wasn’t detected during testing of the sample.
  • Sites with no available data are marked as NA (not available):
    • NA1 indicates a newly onboarded site with less than 12 months of data available and currently awaiting baseline data.
    • NA2 indicates a site that recently stopped sampling and has no recent data available or a site that has no data available because it’s not being sampled.
      • The specific cut-off is when the site hasn’t submitted a minimum of 3 samples in the past 5 weeks.

Interpreting wastewater data

The wastewater dashboard shows the concentration of COVID-19, flu and RSV in wastewater samples from different sites. The solid line of the graphs shows the population-weighted EpiWeek average of the viral load for Canada and for each city and province. We calculate this by averaging the viral loads within a week and adjusting for population served by each site.

The grey shaded area of each graph shows the minimum and maximum COVID, flu and RSV signals of each EpiWeek since the beginning of surveillance based on available data. Use the hover option of each graph to see the daily value, as well as historical minimum and maximum values. Use caution when interpreting daily and short-term changes in viral load, as the wastewater signal can change from day to day. An ongoing increase or decrease in the viral load is more reliable for indicating trends. Any breaks in trend lines of graphs are due to limited data for that particular time period.

The statement above the graphs summarizes the current activity level based on COVID-19, flu and RSV wastewater signals at the regional level. If the wastewater activity levels are high, this may indicate a high level of COVID-19, flu or RSV in your community. It's important to pay attention to public health alerts and to follow public health advice.

Instructions

The data throughout the page changes to reflect the date range and respiratory virus selected below. To select a date range, use the drop-down menu, the slider, or select the dates directly using the From and To boxes. Use the drop-down menu to select the specific respiratory virus to display. Use the drop-down menu to select the province or territory and municipalities to display.

Figure 2. Trend graph of 7-day rolling average of viral load in wastewater,

Selected regions:

Table 2. 7-day rolling average of COVID-19 viral load in wastewater, in epidemiological season as of July 23, 2024

Figure 2: Text description
Notes
  • The date corresponding to an epidemiological week varies by year and may not align across respiratory seasons. The dates from the current respiratory season are used as reference for graphs comparing all respiratory seasons.
  • Sites with no available data on wastewater signal trends and levels are marked as NA (not available).
    • NA1 indicates newly onboarded sites with less than 12 months of data available and are currently awaiting baseline data. Newly onboarded sites need approximately 12 months of wastewater data before an accurate activity level metric can be determined.
    • NA2 indicates sites that have recently stopped sampling with and have no recent data available or sites that have no data available because they're not being sampled. The specific cut-off is when the site hasn’t submitted a minimum of 3 samples in the past 5 weeks.

These dashboards and websites are led by provincial, territorial and academic partners across Canada.

For corrections or additions, please contact us by email: nmlwastewater@phac-aspc.gc.ca.

Region Link
Alberta Alberta Health Respiratory Dashboard
Alberta Centre for Health Informatics
British Columbia Metro Vancouver
British Columbia BC Center for Disease Control
Newfoundland and Labrador Ministry of Environment and Climate Change
Northwest Territories Department of Health and Social Services
Ontario Brant County Health Unit
Ontario City of Hamilton Public Health Services
Ontario Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit
Ontario Halton Region Health Department
Ontario Middlesex-London Health Unit
Ontario Ottawa Public Health
Ontario Peterborough Public Health
Ontario Southwestern Public Health
Ontario Thunder Bay District Health Unit
Ontario Timiskaming Health Unit
Ontario Toronto Public Health
Ontario York Region Public Health
Quebec Institut national de santé publique du Québec
Saskatchewan Government of Saskatchewan

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