Experts reveal sewage water as a source of cancer and dangerous viruses

Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - A new study has detected that all major human cancer-causing viruses originate from wastewater, including sewage water. The study, published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology, analysed wastewater samples collected from May 2022 to May 2025 at more than 40 sites across 16 cities in Texas, United States. The samples represented about 25% of the state’s population.

For the analysis, the researchers used advanced genetic sequencing technology known as ‘hybrid-capture’, capable of simultaneously identifying more than 3,000 known human viruses and potential new mutations through a single test.

According to the study authors, oncogenic viruses account for about one in five cancer cases worldwide. Among the best known are human papillomavirus (HPV), linked to cervical and oropharyngeal cancers, and hepatitis B and C viruses, linked to liver carcinoma.

‘The oncogenic viruses can cause about one-fifth of cancer cases globally,’ said Anthony Maresso, professor of molecular virology and microbiology, quoted from Euronews. ‘Because these infections often show no symptoms for years or even decades, many people do not realise they are infected until a tumour develops. This makes it very difficult to implement early prevention interventions.’

Wastewater analysis has been shown to detect all major oncogenic viruses to date, including HPV, hepatitis B and C viruses, poliovirus related to cancer, Epstein-Barr virus, and herpesviruses linked to Kaposi’s sarcoma.

The researchers also observed significant increases in the presence of several oncogenic viruses during the three-year monitoring period. In particular, HPV, Epstein-Barr virus, and some polioviruses showed a noticeable increase after 2024.

According to the team, the reasons for these increases are not yet clear, but may relate to the restarting of travel, more frequent interpersonal contact, and the relaxation of measures to prevent virus transmission that were initiated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

‘The study shows that tumours-associated viruses can be detected in wastewater,’ Maresso concluded. ‘These findings open new opportunities to better understand the relationship between these viruses and human populations, and to develop more effective public health strategies.’