Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40029872›Full record

ArticlePLoS neglected tropical diseases2025

Wastewater surveillance for Salmonella Typhi and its association with seroincidence of enteric fever in Vellore, India.

Dilip Abraham, Lalithambigai Kathiresan, Midhun Sasikumar, Kristen Aiemjoy, Richelle C Charles, Dilesh Kumar, Rajan Srinivasan, Catherine Troman, Elizabeth Gray, Christopher B Uzzell and 4 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
8citing papers in PubMed, 1 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

8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Estimating enteric fever seroincidence in Bangladesh using rapid serosurveys.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2026
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Dilip AbrahamChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Lalithambigai KathiresanChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Midhun SasikumarChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Kristen AiemjoyDepartment of Public Health Sciences, School of Medicine, University of California, Davis, California, USA.
Richelle C CharlesMassachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Dilesh KumarChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Rajan SrinivasanChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Catherine TromanDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London.
Elizabeth GrayDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London.
Christopher B UzzellDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London.
Jacob JohnChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Balaji VeeraraghavanChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Nicholas C GrasslyDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Imperial College, London.
Venkata Raghava MohanChristian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.ORCID 0000-0001-5787-7223

Funding

Estimating the Seroincidence of Melioidosis, Typhoid Fever and Scrub Typhus from Cross-sectional SerosurveysK01TW012177 · FIC · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI Kristen Aiemjoy · 2022 to 2026
$901k
Serocalculator: Estimating Incidence Rates from Serological DataR21AI176416 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA AT DAVIS · PI AIEMJOY, KRISTEN, MORRISON, DOUGLAS EZRA · 2023 to 2024
$422k
FIC NIH HHS K01 TW012177Gates Foundation INV-002381NIAID NIH HHS R21 AI176416
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBlood culture-based surveillance for typhoid fever has limited sensitivity, and operational challenges are encountered in resource-limited settings. Environmental surveillance targeting Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) shed in wastewater (WW), coupled with cross-sectional serosurveys of S. Typhi-specific antibodies estimating exposure to infection, emerges as a promising alternative.

methodsWe assessed the feasibility and effectiveness of wastewater (WW) and sero-surveillance for S. Typhi in Vellore, India, from May 2022 to April 2023. Monthly samples were collected from 40 sites in open drainage channels and processed using standardized protocols. DNA was extracted and analyzed via quantitative PCR for S. Typhi genes (ttr, tviB, staG) and the fecal biomarker HF183. Clinical cases of enteric fever were recorded from four major hospitals, and a cross-sectional serosurvey measured hemolysin E (HlyE) IgG levels in children under 15 years of age to estimate seroincidence.

results7.50% (39/520) of grab and 15.28% (79/517) Moore swabs were positive for all 3 S. Typhi genes. Moore swab positivity was significantly associated with HF183 (adjusted odds ratio (aOR): 3.08, 95% CI: 1.59-5.95) and upstream catchment population (aOR: 4.67, 1.97-11.04), and there was increased detection during monsoon season - membrane filtration (aOR: 2.99, 1.06-8.49), and Moore swab samples (aOR: 1.29, 0.60-2.79). Only 11 blood culture-confirmed typhoid cases were documented over the study period. Estimated seroincidence was 10.4/100 person-years (py) (95% CI: 9.61 - 11.5/100 py). The number of S. Typhi positive samples at a site was associated with the estimated sero-incidence in the site catchment population (incidence rate ratios: 1.14 (1.07-1.23) and 1.10 (1.02-1.20) for grab and Moore swabs respectively.

conclusionsThese findings underscore the utility and effectiveness of alternate surveillance approaches to estimating the incidence of S. Typhi infection in resource-limited settings, offering valuable insights for public health interventions and disease monitoring strategies where conventional methods are challenging to implement.

Indexed as

Salmonella typhiTyphoid FeverWastewaterAdolescentAntibodies, BacterialChildChild, PreschoolCross-Sectional StudiesEnvironmental MonitoringFemaleHumansIndiaInfantMaleSeroepidemiologic StudiesAntibodies, BacterialWastewater

Identifiers

PMID40029872
PMCPMC11896026

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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.