WATER NEWS: a field approach for sustainable detection of pathogens in wastewater.

Zhou-Hua Cheng, Meng Du, Chen Qian, Shu-Xia Zhang, Hao-Da Wang, Wen-Wei Li, Dong-Feng Liu, Han-Qing Yu

Abstract read

In one paragraph

Article in National science review, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it

0cells of the map it votes in

2citing papers in PubMed

–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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

Direct quantification of waterborne viruses via high-temperature and high-pressure treatment: a simplified nucleic acid extraction-free approach.Scientific reports · 2026
Article
Using wastewater surveillance to improve infectious disease control in correctional facilities and congregate living settings: A modeling perspective.Epidemics · 2026
Article

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

8 authors.

Zhou-Hua ChengState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Meng DuState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Chen QianState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Shu-Xia ZhangFujian Institute of Hematology, Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory on Hematology, Fujian Medical University Union Hospital, Fuzhou 350001, China.

Hao-Da WangState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Wen-Wei LiState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Dong-Feng LiuState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Han-Qing YuState Key Laboratory of Advanced Environmental Technology, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Wastewater surveillance is a critical tool in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet traditional centralized methods are unsustainable due to their high costs and complex implementation requirements. Here, we introduce Wastewater Analysis and Tracking for Epidemiological Recognition: Necessary Early Warning System (WATER NEWS)-a field clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-diagnostic approach designed for robust and cost-effective pathogen detection in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). WATER NEWS combined a one-pot assay, an optimized reporter probe, on-site nucleic acid extraction, an improved freeze-drying process and a user-friendly, low-cost, battery-operated device, thereby overcoming the limitations of field-deployable wastewater surveillance. In evaluations across 25 WWTPs in 10 Chinese cities, WATER NEWS achieved sensitivities exceeding 90% and specificities of 100% in SARS-CoV-2 detection from the influent and effluent samples of WWTPs. Notably, the system consistently detected SARS-CoV-2 presence within 20 days at a local WWTP. Economic analysis reveals that our approach achieved a 6.5-fold cost reduction compared with clinical testing and costs nearly half that of traditional wastewater surveillance methods, making it a viable and sustainable option for wastewater surveillance.

Indexed as

CRISPR–diagnosticfieldpathogen detectionwastewater surveillancewastewater treatment plants

Identifiers

PMID40842866

DOI10.1093/nsr/nwaf275

PMCPMC12365751

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata

LicenceCC BY

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.