Researchers applied virus-enriched metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing to untreated wastewater from open drainage canals in Lagos between July and August 2024. The human-associated virome was dominated by enteric adenoviruses, astroviruses and caliciviruses, with partial and near-complete genomes recovered for noroviruses, enteroviruses and sapoviruses. Despite the viral enrichment the method also detected Vibrio cholerae, the zoonotic Streptococcus suis, and resistance genes spanning aminoglycosides, beta-lactams and fluoroquinolones, including mcr.
Why it is interesting: An untargeted method that catches emerging pathogens and resistance genes together, in a city whose clinical systems watch only a short priority list.