Jorge Luis Salinas

Jorge Luis Salinas is an infectious diseases doctor and healthcare epidemiologist interested in how antimicrobial resistance is transmitted both in hospitals and in the community. He is also interested in the impact of healthcare on environmental antimicrobial resistance in the United States and abroad. He has extensive experience working in several countries in Latin America.

King Center Supported Research

2024 - 2025 Academic Year | Global Development Research Funding Grant

Establishing a Hospital Wastewater Monitoring Network for TB Detection in Peru

This study aims to establish a hospital wastewater surveillance network in Lima, Peru to evaluate the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for tuberculosis detection. Over 12 months, wastewater samples from three hospitals will be analyzed using digital droplet PCR to quantify Mycobacterium tuberculosis DNA and assess correlations with hospital-reported TB cases. Machine learning models will be applied to detect drug-resistant strains and predict outbreaks. Additionally, a cost-effectiveness analysis using Monte Carlo simulations will compare WBE to clinical surveillance. Findings will inform public health strategies for integrating wastewater-based TB monitoring into national surveillance programs in low and middle-income countries.