Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34274898›Full record

ArticleWater research2021

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 across 40 U.S. states from February to June 2020.

Fuqing Wu, Amy Xiao, Jianbo Zhang, Katya Moniz, Noriko Endo, Federica Armas, Mary Bushman, Peter R Chai, Claire Duvallet, Timothy B Erickson and 12 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Water research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 100 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
100citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

100 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  11. Coupling wastewater-based epidemiology with data-driven machine learning for managing public health risks.Risk analysis : an official publication of the Society for Risk Analysis · 2025
    Article
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40 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Fuqing WuDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Amy XiaoDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Jianbo ZhangDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Katya MonizDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA.
Noriko EndoBiobot Analytics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Federica ArmasSingapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore.
Mary BushmanHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA.
Peter R ChaiDivision of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA; The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Claire DuvalletBiobot Analytics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Timothy B EricksonDivision of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA; The Koch Institute for Integrated Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA; Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University.
Katelyn FoppeBiobot Analytics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Newsha GhaeliBiobot Analytics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Xiaoqiong GuSingapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore.
William P HanageHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, USA.
Katherine H HuangBroad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Wei Lin LeeSingapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore.
Kyle A McElroyBiobot Analytics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Steven F RhodeMassachusetts Water Resources Authority, Boston, MA, USA.
Mariana MatusBiobot Analytics, Inc., Cambridge, MA, USA.
Stefan WuertzCampus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Janelle ThompsonCampus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Eric J AlmDepartment of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA. Electronic address: ejalm@mit.edu.

Funding

Ecological and genetic contributions to the spread of resistance in pneumococcusR01AI106786 · NIAID · HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI HANAGE, WILLIAM · 2013 to 2017
$3.1M
A novel robotic wastewater analysis system to quantify opioid exposure and treatment in residential communitiesR44DA051106 · NIDA · BIOBOT ANALYTICS, INC. · PI CHAI, PETER R, MATUS GARCIA, MARIANA G · 2020 to 2022
$1.5M
Development of Ingestible Biosensors to Enhance PrEP Adherence in Substance UsersK23DA044874 · NIDA · BRIGHAM AND WOMEN'S HOSPITAL · PI CHAI, PETER R · 2018 to 2022
$1.0M
NIAID NIH HHS R01 AI106786NIDA NIH HHS K23 DA044874NIDA NIH HHS R44 DA051106
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Wastewater-based disease surveillance is a promising approach for monitoring community outbreaks. Here we describe a nationwide campaign to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater of 159 counties in 40 U.S. states, covering 13% of the U.S. population from February 18 to June 2, 2020. Out of 1,751 total samples analyzed, 846 samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, with overall viral concentrations declining from April to May. Wastewater viral titers were consistent with, and appeared to precede, clinical COVID-19 surveillance indicators, including daily new cases. Wastewater surveillance had a high detection rate (>80%) of SARS-CoV-2 when the daily incidence exceeded 13 per 100,000 people. Detection rates were positively associated with wastewater treatment plant catchment size. To our knowledge, this work represents the largest-scale wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 monitoring campaign to date, encompassing a wide diversity of wastewater treatment facilities and geographic locations. Our findings demonstrate that a national wastewater-based approach to disease surveillance may be feasible and effective.

Indexed as

COVID-19SARS-CoV-2Disease OutbreaksHumansRNA, ViralWastewaterRNA, ViralWastewaterDetection rateSARS-CoV-2Spatiotemporal dynamicsUnited StatesWastewater surveillance

Identifiers

PMID34274898
PMCPMC8249441

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.