Sewage surveillance: a new weapon against superbugs?
NCT ID NCT07499505
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study explores whether testing hospital wastewater can reliably track the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria, instead of using uncomfortable rectal swabs on patients. Researchers will compare bacteria and resistance genes found in the sewage of a single hospital building with those from 150 hospitalized adults. If a strong link is found, wastewater monitoring could become a cheap, easy, and ethical way to detect emerging superbugs and guide infection control efforts.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could provide a simple, low-cost way to monitor antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals without needing to test each patient individually.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early observational study with only 150 participants. It may not prove that wastewater reliably reflects patient colonization, and results may not apply to other hospitals.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Participants
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About 150 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Expected to start
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Apr 2026
An estimate. Start dates often move.
- Expected to finish
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Apr 2027
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
Who is studied
The human population studied (human compartment) will be made up of adult patients hospitalized in the infectious and tropical diseases department (SMIT) of the Bichat - Claude-Bernard hospital at the time of a wastewater sampling campaign from the building
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion criteria : * Age≥ 18 years * Hospitalized in the SMIT of the Bichat - Claude-Bernard hospital at the time of a wastewater sampling campaign from the building Non inclusion criteria : * Patient Objection of Data * Patients under legal protection (curatorship, guardianship), safeguard of justice
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Get notified about this study
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As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
1 site. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Hôpital Bichat-Claude Bernard
Paris, 75010, France