Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41644595›Full record

ArticleScientific reports2026

Comparative performance of activated sludge and waste stabilization ponds for the removal of pollutants and pathogens in full-scale wastewater treatment plants in Egypt.

Marwa A Kamel, Neveen Magdy Rizk, Mahmoud Gad, Gamal K Hassan, Aly Al-Sayed, Mariam E Fawzy, Mohamed Azab El-Liethy, Ibrahim Ahmed Hamza

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Scientific reports, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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.

Marwa A KamelEnvironmental Virology Lab., Water Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Neveen Magdy RizkEnvironmental Virology Lab., Water Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Mahmoud GadWater Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Gamal K HassanWater Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Aly Al-SayedWater Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Mariam E FawzyWater Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Mohamed Azab El-LiethyEnvironmental Microbiology Lab., Water Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
Ibrahim Ahmed HamzaEnvironmental Virology Lab., Water Pollution Research Department, Environment and Climate Change Research Institute, National Research Centre, 33 El- Buhouth, Giza, 12622, Egypt. ibrahimnrc@gmail.com.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The discharge of inadequately treated wastewater poses serious public health and environmental risks worldwide. In this study, the performance of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) was evaluated for their ability to remove pathogenic viruses and bacteria, organic and nitrogen compounds, bacteriophages, and bacterial indicators. WWTP-A employs activated sludge treatment technology, whereas WWTP-B utilizes waste stabilization ponds (WSP). The removal rates of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) were higher in WWTP-A than in WWTP-B, indicating the limited efficiency of the WSP system in treating heavily contaminated sewage. In WWTP-A, bacterial removal rates ranged between 3.9log10 for Listeria spp. and 6.2 log10 for Escherichia coli (E. coli), while in WWTP-B, removal ranged from 3.2 log10 for Pseudomonas aeruginosa to 5.3 log10 Fecal Streptococci. The viral reduction rate by WWTP-A ranged from 0.9 log10 for crAssphage to 3 log10 for human adenovirus (HAdV), whereas in WWTP-B, viral removal ranged between 0.8 log10 for somatic coliphages (SOMCPH) and 3 log10 for crAssphage. CrAssphage exhibited significant influent–effluent reduction in both WWTP-A and WWTP-B (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.05). In contrast, significant HAdV reduction was observed only in WWTP-A, SOMCPH only in WWTP-B, while RoV showed no significant reduction in either system. These findings highlight limitations in the ability of conventional treatment processes to consistently remove viral contaminants from treated effluent and underscore the need for improved management strategies to enhance effluent quality.

Indexed as

PondsSewageWaste Disposal, FluidWastewaterWater PurificationBacteriaBiological Oxygen Demand AnalysisEgyptVirusesSewageWastewaterActivated sludgeBacteriaMicrobial indicatorsPhysicochemical parametersVirusesWaste stabilization ponds

Identifiers

PMID41644595
PMCPMC12881621

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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.