Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41304314›Full record

ArticleMicroorganisms2025

High-Resolution Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Three Influenza Seasons (2022-2025) Reveals Distinct Seasonal Patterns of Viral Activity in Munich, Germany.

Jessica Neusser, Astrid Zierer, Anna Riedl, Jasmin Javanmardi, Raquel Rubio-Acero, Elisabeth Waldeck, Thomas Kletke, Annemarie Bschorer, Stefanie Huber, Patrick Dudler and 9 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Microorganisms, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing 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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

19 authors.

Jessica NeusserInstitute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, 80802 Munich, Germany.ORCID 0009-0003-1740-3850
Astrid ZiererBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Anna RiedlBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Jasmin JavanmardiInstitute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, 80802 Munich, Germany.ORCID 0009-0002-8616-4825
Raquel Rubio-AceroInstitute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, 80802 Munich, Germany.
Elisabeth WaldeckPublic Health Department Munich/Gesundheitsreferat Stadt München (GSR), 80335 Munich, Germany.
Thomas KletkeMunich Metropolitan Sewer Authority/Münchner Stadtentwässerung (MSE), 81671 Munich, Germany.
Annemarie BschorerBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Stefanie HuberBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Patrick DudlerBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Martin HochBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-4854-3269
Merle M BöhmerBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-2672-7481
Caroline HerrBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Ute EberleBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Andreas SingBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Nikolaus AckermannBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Michael HoelscherInstitute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, 80802 Munich, Germany.
Katharina SpringerBavarian Health and Food Safety Authority, 91058 Erlangen, Germany.
Andreas WieserInstitute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, LMU University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) München, 80802 Munich, Germany.

Funding

German Federal Ministry of Research, 576 Technology and Space (BMFTR) 031L0297E
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

In the Northern Hemisphere, annual waves of influenza disease with varying degrees of spread and severity are observed each winter. With wastewater-based surveillance (WBS), including both centralized (one wastewater treatment plant, WWTP) and decentralized (three sewers) sampling, we aimed to detect differences in influenza viral copy numbers in wastewater over time, to investigate (sub)-community transmission within a city. A total of 313 grab/spot and composite samples were collected in Munich, Germany, during three consecutive influenza seasons (2022/23, 2023/24, and 2024/25) and were analyzed for influenza A virus (IAV) and influenza B virus (IBV) nucleic acids using digital droplet PCR (ddPCR). IAV and IBV wastewater copy numbers and citywide reported influenza cases showed strong correlations in both sampling approaches, suggesting the decentralized approach to be a reliable indicator of infection trends across the city. The three influenza seasons analyzed differed significantly in terms of their seasonal distribution, for example, exhibiting a strong co-circulation of IAV and IBV only in the 2024/25 season. Only with wastewater analysis, we reveal a reporting delay of influenza A cases at the beginning of the 2023/24 season. Higher influenza copy numbers were detected in sewer samples compared to the WWTP influent, likely due to viral decay. The study underscores the potential of influenza WBS to enable detection of seasonal onset early, identify local transmission patterns, and reveal underreporting in routine surveillance systems.

Indexed as

composite samplegrab sampleinfluenzainfluenza A virus (IAV)influenza B virus (IBV)sewagewastewaterwastewater-based epidemiologywastewater-based surveillance

Identifiers

PMID41304314
PMCPMC12655254

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.