Isaac Dennis Amoah

Journal article Microplastics · March 1, 2026 Microplastics (MPs) are persistent environmental pollutants of growing concern, threatening aquatic ecosystems worldwide. This study examined the influence of different pollution sources on the abundance, types, and polymer composition of MPs in two South ... Full text Cite

Decoding mycobacterial ecology in Sub-Saharan African wastewater: metagenomic and metatranscriptomic insights for tuberculosis surveillance.

Journal article Journal of water and health · February 2026 Tuberculosis (TB) remains a major public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, driven by high transmission, delayed diagnosis, and limited surveillance. This study presents one of the first integrated applications of shotgun metagenomic and metatranscrip ... Full text Cite

Unveiling the role of aeration systems in the bioaerosol emission rate, particle size and microbial composition from wastewater treatment plants.

Journal article Journal of hazardous materials · December 2025 Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are important sources of bioaerosols; however, the influence of aeration on emission characteristics, particle size distribution, and microbial composition remains poorly studied. This study investigates how surface aera ... Full text Cite

Quantitative microbial risk assessment of drug-resistant tuberculosis exposure from wastewater systems across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Journal article The Science of the total environment · October 2025 Tuberculosis (TB), especially in its drug-resistant form, remains a critical public health challenge in sub-Saharan Africa, where conventional airborne transmission has been well-characterized. However, wastewater systems prevalent across urban centres may ... Full text Cite

Soil Chemical Properties Along an Elevational Gradient in the Alpine Shrublands of the Northeastern Tibetan Plateau

Journal article Soil Systems · September 1, 2025 The high-elevation ecosystems of the Tibetan Plateau provide crucial ecosystem services including watershed protection and water provision for downstream human and wildlife communities. Thus, understanding the relationship between soil properties and veget ... Full text Cite

The influence of hydrometeorological factors on tree growth in mountainous watersheds of the Qilian mountains in China.

Journal article Scientific reports · April 2025 To examine the influence of hydrometeorological factors on forest ecosystems, this study focused on the growth response of the Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia Kom.) to hydrometeorological factors, such as soil moisture, relative humidity, vapor pressure ... Full text Cite

Comprehensive profiling and risk assessment of antibiotic resistomes in surface water and plastisphere by integrated shotgun metagenomics.

Journal article Journal of hazardous materials · April 2025 The ever-increasing microplastics (MPs) and antibiotic-resistance genes (ARGs) in aquatic ecosystems has become a serious global challenging issue. However, the impact of different pollution sources on microbiome and antibiotic resistome in surface water ( ... Full text Cite

Plant Diversity and Interspecific Interactions in Desert-Oasis Transition Zones: Insights from the Badain Jilin Desert

Journal article Sustainability Switzerland · February 1, 2025 Plant species diversity and spatial distribution patterns are critical for understanding ecosystem dynamics in arid and fragile environments. This study investigates the diversity, spatial distribution, and interspecific associations of shrubs and herbaceo ... Full text Cite

The plastisphere ecology: Assessing the impact of different pollution sources on microbial community composition, function and assembly in aquatic ecosystems

Journal article Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology · January 1, 2025 In aquatic ecosystems microplastics (MPs) provide new habitat for microbes, forming the plastisphere. While, the effect of different pollution sources on microbiome compositions, functions and assembly processes remains largely cryptic, and hence requires ... Full text Cite

Effects of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria Aspergillus flavus AF-LRH1 on promoting phosphorus solubilization, wheat growth and soil heavy metal remediation

Journal article Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering · December 1, 2024 Increasing nutrient supply level and eliminating pollution risk are essential to promote farmland soil use. In the soil-plant nutrition cycle, phosphorus is a limiting nutrient, toxic metals such as Cd and Pb are stress threats. Utilizing microorganisms as ... Full text Cite

Point-of-care diagnostics for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology: a big leap toward miniaturization

Journal article Environmental Science Water Research and Technology · July 15, 2024 The integration of point-of-care diagnostics in SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology signifies a substantial leap forward in disease surveillance and monitoring. Various innovative methods have been explored for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewate ... Full text Cite

Optimisation of analytical methods for tuberculosis drug detection in wastewater: A multinational study

Journal article Heliyon · May 30, 2024 Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a robust tool for disease surveillance and monitoring of pharmaceutical consumption. However, monitoring tuberculosis (TB) drug consumption faces challenges due to limited data availability. This study aimed to optimi ... Full text Cite

Shifts in C-degradation genes and microbial metabolic activity with vegetation types affected the surface soil organic carbon pool

Journal article Soil Biology and Biochemistry · May 1, 2024 The incorporation of plant-derived biomass by microorganisms into deceased microbial biomass, i.e., a “microbial carbon pump”, is essential for forming a soil carbon (C) pool. Therefore, microbial communities and associated functions could shape the format ... Full text Cite

Climate-Driven Dynamics of Runoff in the Dayekou Basin: A Comprehensive Analysis of Temperature, Precipitation, and Anthropogenic Influences over a 25-Year Period

Journal article Water Switzerland · April 1, 2024 Understanding runoff dynamics is vital for effective water management in climate-affected areas. This study focuses on the Dayekou basin in China’s Qilian Mountains, known for their high climate variability. Using 25 years of data (1994–2018) on river runo ... Full text Cite

Wastewater-based epidemiology for early warning and surveillance of Covid-19

Book section · March 12, 2024 Wastewater-based epidemiological has become a cost-effective complementary tool for community-level COVID-19 surveillance. This has become necessary due to the cost, turnaround time and possible underestimation of the severity of the infection associated w ... Full text Cite

Profiling pathogenic protozoan and their functional pathways in wastewater using 18S rRNA and shotgun metagenomics.

Journal article The Science of the total environment · February 2024 Despite extensive research, little is known about the composition of eukaryotic protists in environmental samples. This is due to low parasite concentrations, the complexity of parasite diversity, and a lack of suitable reference databases and standardized ... Full text Cite

Biofilm formation on microplastics in wastewater: insights into factors, diversity and inactivation strategies

Journal article International Journal of Environmental Science and Technology · February 1, 2024 Microplastic (MP) occurrence in wastewater poses serious threats to aquatic organisms due to their ecological impact. Additionally, these microplastics may provide a unique habitat for microbial biofilms. This study explored the possible factors that facil ... Full text Cite

Treated domestic effluents for non-potable reuse: microbial risk assessment and economic viability

Journal article Urban Water Journal · January 1, 2024 In this study, we applied quantitative microbial risk assessment and net present value methodologies to evaluate the economic viability and safety of wastewater treatment to produce water for reuse. We found payback periods of three to over 15 years for in ... Full text Cite

Nanomaterials for Microplastic Removal from Wastewater: Current State of the Art Nanomaterials and Future Prospects

Journal article ACS Es and T Water · December 8, 2023 Microplastics (MPs) and nanoplastics (NPs) infiltrate aquatic environments at an alarming rate, posing a serious threat to aquatic ecosystems and human health. Wastewater treatment plants are significant sources of MPs/NPs contamination in the aquatic envi ... Full text Cite

Anthelmintic resistance in soil-transmitted helminths: One-Health considerations.

Journal article Parasitology research · December 2023 The One-Health approach recognizes the intricate connection between human, animal, and environmental health, and that cooperative effort from various professionals provides comprehensive awareness and potential solutions for issues relating to the health o ... Full text Cite

Enhancing nitrogen conversion and microbial dynamics in swine manure composting process through inoculation with a microbial consortium

Journal article Journal of Cleaner Production · October 15, 2023 Microbial inoculation plays a crucial role in enhancing the efficiency of biowaste conversion. In this study, we investigated the effects of inoculating a complex microbial agent called the BP consortium, comprising Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus subtili ... Full text Cite

Surveillance of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis in sub-Saharan Africa through wastewater-based epidemiology

Journal article Heliyon · August 1, 2023 The spread of multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) is a serious public health issue, particularly in developing nations. The current methods of monitoring drug-resistant TB (DR-TB) using clinical diagnoses and hospital records are insufficient due to ... Full text Cite

Exploring the role of wastewater-based epidemiology in understanding tuberculosis burdens in Africa.

Journal article Environmental research · August 2023 Tuberculosis (TB) remains a persistent challenge to public health and presents a substantial menace, especially in developing nations of sub-Saharan Africa. It exerts a considerable strain on healthcare systems in these regions. Effective control requires ... Full text Cite

Potential and Challenges Encountered in the Application of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology as an Early Warning System for COVID-19 Infections in South Africa

Journal article ACS Es and T Water · November 11, 2022 The use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a disease surveillance tool during the COVID-19 pandemic has been mainly to achieve two goals: early warning and determining changes in infection numbers over time. This study focused on the utilization of ... Full text Cite

Fluorescence and colorimetric LAMP-based real-time detection of human pathogenic Cryptosporidium spp. from environmental samples.

Journal article Acta tropica · November 2022 Public health concerns related to pathogenic protozoa are widespread, causing significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Due to the lack of rapid and cost-effective diagnostic methods, timely treatment and control interventions are hindered. In this st ... Full text Cite

A probabilistic assessment of microbial infection risks due to occupational exposure to wastewater in a conventional activated sludge wastewater treatment plant.

Journal article The Science of the total environment · October 2022 Exposure to pathogens during wastewater treatment could result in significant health risks. In this paper, a probabilistic approach for assessing the risks of microbial infection for workers in an activated sludge wastewater treatment plant is presented. A ... Full text Cite

Determinants of diarrhoeal infections among users of shared sanitation in informal settlements in Durban, South Africa.

Journal article Journal of water and health · October 2022 Diarrhoeal disease continues to be a major health problem in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries, mainly due to the lack of access to sanitation, water, and hygienic living conditions. Identifying the determinants of diarrhoeal infe ... Full text Cite

Water quality modelling and quantitative microbial risk assessment for uMsunduzi River in South Africa.

Journal article Journal of water and health · April 2022 South African rivers generally receive waste from inadequate wastewater infrastructure, mines, and farming activities, among others. The uMsunduzi River in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, is among these recipients with recorded poor to very poor water quality ... Full text Cite

Development and evaluation of a molecular based protocol for detection and quantification of Cryptosporidium spp. in wastewater.

Journal article Experimental parasitology · March 2022 Infections caused by protozoan parasites are a major public health concern globally. These infections are commonly diagnosed during water-borne outbreaks, necessitating accurate and highly sensitive detection procedures to assure public health protection. ... Full text Cite

Molecular surveillance of tuberculosis-causing mycobacteria in wastewater

Journal article Heliyon · February 1, 2022 The surveillance of tuberculosis infections has largely depended on clinical diagnostics and hospitalization data. The advancement in molecular methods creates an opportunity for the adoption of alternative surveillance systems, such as wastewater-based ep ... Full text Cite

An assessment of the health risks associated with shared sanitation: a case study of the community ablution blocks in Durban, South Africa.

Journal article Environmental monitoring and assessment · February 2022 Shared sanitation facilities have been hailed as an innovative approach to solve the challenge with sanitation access. However, these facilities may act as hotspots for disease transmission due to unhygienic conditions. In this study we used quantitative ( ... Full text Cite

Effect of selected wastewater characteristics on estimation of SARS-CoV-2 viral load in wastewater.

Journal article Environmental research · January 2022 Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used as a tool for surveillance of COVID-19 infections. This approach is dependent on the detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in untreated/raw wastewater. However, the quantification of the viral RNA could ... Full text Cite

The source and fate of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex in wastewater and possible routes of transmission.

Journal article BMC public health · January 2022 BackgroundThe Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) consists of causative agents of both human and animal tuberculosis and is responsible for over 10 million annual infections globally. Infections occur mainly through airborne transmission, ho ... Full text Cite

RT-LAMP: A Cheaper, Simpler and Faster Alternative for the Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater.

Journal article Food and environmental virology · December 2021 Reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) has the potential to become a cheaper and faster option for monitoring COVID-19 infections through wastewater-based epidemiology. However, its application in COVID-19 surveillance has b ... Full text Cite

16S rRNA-based metagenomic profiling of microbes on contact surfaces within shared sanitation facilities

Journal article Ecological Genetics and Genomics · December 1, 2021 Contact surfaces within shared sanitation facilities could lead to disease transmission due to contamination. In this study, we applied metagenomics, by targeting the 16S rRNA gene region using illumina sequencing to determine the common bacterial communit ... Full text Cite

Wastewater-based surveillance of antibiotic resistance genes associated with tuberculosis treatment regimen in kwazulu natal, south africa

Journal article Antibiotics · November 1, 2021 Essential components of public health include strengthening the surveillance of infectious diseases and developing early detection and prevention policies. This is particularly important for drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB), which can be explored by usi ... Full text Cite

Monitoring changes in COVID-19 infection using wastewater-based epidemiology: A South African perspective.

Journal article The Science of the total environment · September 2021 Monitoring of COVID-19 infections within communities via wastewater-based epidemiology could provide a cost-effective alternative to clinical testing. This approach, however, still requires improvement for its efficient application. In this paper, we prese ... Full text Cite

Development of a semi-quantitative approach for the assessment of microbial health risk associated with wastewater reuse: A case study at the household level

Journal article Environmental Challenges · August 1, 2021 This study proposes a modified methodology for semi-quantitative microbial risk assessment (SQMRA) based on the risk matrix presented in the World Health Organization (WHO) Sanitation Safety Planning manual adding the variable ranking for probability of in ... Full text Cite

A review on application of next-generation sequencing methods for profiling of protozoan parasites in water: Current methodologies, challenges, and perspectives.

Journal article Journal of microbiological methods · August 2021 The advancement in metagenomic techniques has provided novel tools for profiling human parasites in environmental matrices, such as water and wastewater. However, application of metagenomic techniques for the profiling of protozoan parasites in environment ... Full text Cite

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA on contact surfaces within shared sanitation facilities.

Journal article International journal of hygiene and environmental health · July 2021 Contamination of contact surfaces with SARS-CoV-2 has been reported as a potential route for the transmission of COVID-19. This could be a major issue in developing countries where access to basic sanitation is poor, leading to the sharing of toilet facili ... Full text Cite

Identification, antibiotic resistance, and virulence profiling of Aeromonas and Pseudomonas species from wastewater and surface water.

Journal article Environmental monitoring and assessment · April 2021 Aquatic environments are hotspots for the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes due to pollution caused mainly by anthropogenic activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of wastewater effluents, informal settlements, hospital ... Full text Cite

Detection of multidrug resistant environmental isolates of acinetobacter and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: a possible threat for community acquired infections?

Journal article Journal of environmental science and health. Part A, Toxic/hazardous substances & environmental engineering · January 2021 Acinetobacter spp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are bacteria commonly associated with infections at the clinical settings. Reports of infections caused by environmental isolates are rare. Therefore, this study focused on determination of ... Full text Cite

Microplastics in the environment: Interactions with microbes and chemical contaminants.

Journal article The Science of the total environment · November 2020 Microplastics (MPs) are contaminants of emerging concern that have gained considerable attention during the last few decades due to their adverse impact on living organisms and the environment. Recent studies have shown their ubiquitous presence in the env ... Full text Cite

Coronaviruses in wastewater processes: Source, fate and potential risks.

Journal article Environment international · October 2020 The last 17 years have seen three major outbreaks caused by coronaviruses, with the latest outbreak, COVID-19, declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. The frequency of these outbreaks, their mortality and associated disruption to normal life ... Full text Cite

Impact of informal settlements and wastewater treatment plants on helminth egg contamination of urban rivers and risks associated with exposure.

Journal article Environmental monitoring and assessment · October 2020 The quality of surface water could be influenced by both anthropogenic and natural factors. This study was designed to determine the impact of informal settlement and wastewater treatment plants on helminth egg contamination of urban rivers and the risks a ... Full text Cite

Impact of sludge bulking on receiving environment using quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA)-based management for full-scale wastewater treatment plants.

Journal article Journal of environmental management · August 2020 During sludge bulking in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), high amounts of potentially pathogenic bacteria would release into the environment, causing various human-health risks. This is the first study attempting to assess the microbial infections asso ... Full text Cite

Transfer of coliform bacteria to duckweed harvested from anaerobic baffled reactor effluent

Journal article Bioresource Technology Reports · December 1, 2019 Efforts to recover nutrients from wastewater have drawn interest in effluent polishing with duckweed, a small angiosperm known to grow in high nutrient environments. One important consideration is that pathogens may be transferred to suspended duckweed bio ... Full text Cite

Comparative assessment of DNA extraction procedures for Ascaris spp. eggs.

Journal article Journal of helminthology · August 2019 A central and critical step in the molecular detection of soil-transmitted helminths from environmental sources is the extraction of DNA from the eggs. In this study, we investigated the yield of DNA extracted from known quantities (500, 100, 50, 20, 10 an ... Full text Cite

Relationships between shared sanitation facilities and diarrhoeal and soil-transmitted helminth infections: An analytical review

Journal article Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development · June 1, 2019 Shared sanitation is widely proposed as a means to increase access to improved sanitation. There are few reports of a causal relationship between the use of shared sanitation and community-acquired diarrhoea. This paper presents an analytical review of stu ... Full text Cite

Epidemiological evidence and health risks associated with agricultural reuse of partially treated and untreated wastewater: A review

Journal article Frontiers in Public Health · December 6, 2018 The use of partially treated and untreated wastewater for irrigation is beneficial in agriculture but may be associated with human health risks. Reports from different locations globally have linked microbial outbreaks with agricultural reuse of wastewater ... Full text Cite

Soil-transmitted helminth infections associated with wastewater and sludge reuse: a review of current evidence.

Journal article Tropical medicine & international health : TM & IH · July 2018 ObjectiveTo review current evidence on infections related to the concentration of soil-transmitted helminth (STH) eggs in wastewater, sludge and vegetables irrigated with wastewater or grown on sludge-amended soils.MethodSearch of Web of ... Full text Cite

Removal of helminth eggs by centralized and decentralized wastewater treatment plants in South Africa and Lesotho: health implications for direct and indirect exposure to the effluents.

Journal article Environmental science and pollution research international · May 2018 Wastewater may contain contaminants harmful to human health; hence, there is the need for treatment before discharge. Centralized wastewater treatment systems are the favored treatment options globally, but these are not necessarily superior in reduction o ... Full text Cite

Concentration of soil-transmitted helminth eggs in sludge from South Africa and Senegal: A probabilistic estimation of infection risks associated with agricultural application.

Journal article Journal of environmental management · January 2018 The use of sludge in agriculture has been encouraged as a means of increasing soil nutrient content and improving the water holding capacity. On the negative side, major public health concerns with sludge application prevail, mainly due to the high concent ... Full text Cite

Effect of reagents used during detection and quantification of Ascaris suum in environmental samples on egg viability.

Journal article Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research · November 2017 Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) are a major health concern globally. Infection is mostly through contact with contaminated water, food or soil. Therefore to break the cycle of viable transmission STH eggs must be quantitatively detected in the environmen ... Full text Cite

Detection and quantification of soil-transmitted helminths in environmental samples: A review of current state-of-the-art and future perspectives.

Journal article Acta tropica · May 2017 It is estimated that over a billion people are infected with soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) globally with majority occurring in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. The roundworm (Ascaris lumbricoides), whipworm (Trichuris trichiura), and hook ... Full text Cite

Contribution of Wastewater Irrigation to Soil Transmitted Helminths Infection among Vegetable Farmers in Kumasi, Ghana.

Journal article PLoS neglected tropical diseases · December 2016 Wastewater irrigation is associated with several benefits but can also lead to significant health risks. The health risk for contracting infections from Soil Transmitted Helminths (STHs) among farmers has mainly been assessed indirectly through measured qu ... Full text Cite

Exploring the potential reservoirs of non specific TEM beta lactamase (bla(TEM)) gene in the Indo-Gangetic region: A risk assessment approach to predict health hazards.

Journal article Journal of hazardous materials · August 2016 The emergence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria is an important public health and environmental contamination issue. Antimicrobials of β-lactam group accounts for approximately two thirds, by weight, of all antimicrobials administered to humans due to hi ... Full text Cite