Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42053299›Full record

ReviewApplied and environmental microbiology2026

Environmental surveillance of pathogens in Africa.

Eric Darko, Debora Akortia, Gifty Nkrumah, Francis Opoku Agyapong, Sampson Twumasi-Ankrah, Michael Owusu-Ansah, Rosanna Glazik, Alexander Shaw, Nicholas Grassly, Ellis Owusu-Dabo and 2 more

Abstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Applied and environmental microbiology, 2026. 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

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Eric DarkoDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0002-7074-115X
Debora AkortiaDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0009-0001-3385-8252
Gifty NkrumahDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Francis Opoku AgyapongDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0002-3941-5591
Sampson Twumasi-AnkrahDepartment of Statistics and Actuarial Science, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0003-2196-0310
Michael Owusu-AnsahSchool of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0003-3631-0564
Rosanna GlazikUniversity of Warwick, Coventry, United Kingdom.
Alexander ShawDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-5741-7526
Nicholas GrasslyDepartment of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, School of Public Health, MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-6067-4507
Ellis Owusu-DaboSchool of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0003-4232-4292
Yaw Adu-SarkodieDepartment of Clinical Microbiology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
Michael OwusuDepartment of Medical Diagnostics, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.ORCID 0000-0001-5066-150X

Funding

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation INV-INV-076273
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The control of infectious diseases depends on effective diagnostics and interventions. In Africa, resource limitations hinder clinical surveillance. Environmental surveillance (ES), particularly wastewater surveillance, offers a cost-effective alternative. While globally expanding, its application in Africa remains limited. This review aimed to describe published studies in Africa that have utilized ES for the detection of infectious pathogens of public health importance in Africa. The study employed a rapid review approach to synthesize evidence on ES of infectious pathogens in Africa, following guidance from the Cochrane Rapid Reviews Methods. Articles from major databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and Cochrane, were screened using Catchii.org. Duplicates were removed, and data were extracted into Excel, and study quality was appraised using the AXIS tool and a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. The search strategy identified 2,189 articles, of which 90 were found to be eligible. We identified 47 microbial species that have been reported across studies. These consisted of 46.8% bacteria (

Indexed as

Environmental MonitoringAfricaBacteriaFungiHumansVirusesenvironmental surveillancepathogensrapid review

Identifiers

PMID42053299
PMCPMC13188889

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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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.