Papers

Dalton, J.; Rao, G.; Chiluvane, M.; Cumbane, V.; Holcomb, D.; Kowalsky, E.; Lai, A.; Mataveia, E.; Monteiro, V.; Viegas, E.; Brown, J.; Capone, D. Enteric Pathogens in Soil Adjacent to Public Waste Bins in Maputo, Mozambique Offers Potential for Environmental Surveillance. February 4, 2026. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.02.26345414.

Ojeda, A. S.; Barrett, J. R.; Boyer, E. W.; Capone, D.; Coyte, R.; Datta, S.; Dietrich, M.; Dimova, N.; Eaves, L. A.; Fry, R. C.; Gitter, A.; Hu, X. C.; Lombard, M. A.; Gibson, J. M.; Moylan, H.; Mulhern, R. E.; Murphy, H. M.; Roy, S.; Scanlon, B. R.; Terry, L. G.; Tripp, N.; Wickliffe, J.; Ying, S. C. Transdisciplinary Approach to Private Well Research. Sci. Technol.2026. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c03757.

Harper, J.; Abdel Sattar, R.; Kozole, T.; Vichet, Y.; Prummanh, Y.; Stokes, J.; Capone, D. Microbial Hazards in Surface Soils after Limed On-Site Burial of Household Fecal Sludge in Rural Cambodia. PLOS Water2026, 5 (8), e0000598. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000598.

Clerkin, T.; Smith, S.; Zhu, K.; Blackwood, D.; Gallard-Góngora, J.; Capone, D.; Brown, J.; Noble, R. T. Bio-Rad and QIAGEN Digital PCR Platforms Provide Equivalent Quantification for Wastewater-Based SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance. Applied Environmental Microbiology.2026. https://doi.org/10.1128/aem.00083-26.

Capone, D.; Chiluvane, M.; Cumbane, V.; Dalton, J.; Holcomb, D.; Kowalsky, E.; Lai, A.; Mataveia, E.; Monteiro, V.; Rao, G.; Viegas, E.; Brown, J. Environmental Pathogen Surveillance in Cities without Universal Piped Wastewater Infrastructure. PLOS Global Public Health2026, 6 (4), e0004994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0004994.

Heintzman, A. A.†; Keenum, I.; Capone, D. Diverse Enteric Bacterial, Viral, and Parasitic Pathogen Genes Are Shed in Animal Feces in Indiana. PLoS One2026, 21 (2), e0335338. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0335338.

Capone, D.; Holcomb, D.; Lai, A.; Meade, T.; Reinhard, K.; Brown, J. Targeted Pathogen Profiling of Ancient Feces Reveals Common Enteric Infections in the Rio Zape Valley, 725–920 CE. PLoS One 2025, 20 (10), e0318140. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0318140.

Capone, D.; Jahan, N.; Namazzi, R.; Opoka, R. O.; John, C. C. Low Prevalence of Helminth Infection in Ugandan Children Hospitalized with Severe Malaria. PLoS One 2025, 20 (9), e0332246. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332246.

Njage, P. M. K.; Becsei, Á.; Marques, A. R. P.; Muchiri, B. W.; Pedersen, J. L. M.; Otani, S.; Avot, B. J. P.; Pruden, A.; Calarco, J.; Harwood, V.; Meschke, J. S.; Gonzalez, R.; Sozzi, E.; Sobsey, M.; McNamara, P.; Beck, N.; Clark, K.; Ballash, G.; Mollenkopf, D.; Wittum, T.; Smith, B.; Maile-Moskowitz, A.; Kang, S.; Capone, D.; Aarestrup, F. M. Sociodemographic and Health Factors Are Associated with Antimicrobial Resistance across Eight States in the United States. Environ Sci Technol 2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.5c07425.

Harper, J.; Abdel Sattar, R.; Kozole, T.; Toeur, V.; Rogla, J.; Ross, M.; Ives, N.; Pruitt, H.; Soneja, P.; Capone, D. Household Perceptions, Practices, and Experiences with Real-World Alternating Dual-Pit Latrines Treated with Storage and Lime in Rural Cambodia. PLoS One 2025, 20 (10), e0332118. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0332118.

Holcomb, D. A.; Knee, J.; Adriano, Z.; Capone, D.; Cumming, O.; Kowalsky, E.; Nalá, R.; Viegas, E.; Stewart, J. R.; Brown, J. Associations between Fecal Contamination of the Household Environment and Enteric Pathogen Detection in Children Living in Maputo, Mozambique. Environment & Health.2025. https://doi.org/10.1021/envhealth.4c00283.

Jahan, N.; Johnson, D.; Owings, C. G.; Picard, C. J.; Capone, D. Blow Flies Pose a Public Health Hazard near Urban Combined Sewer Overflows. Environmental Science & Technology.2025, 59 (8), 3906–3914. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c14029. 

Knee, J.; Sumner, T.; Adriano, Z.; Anderson, C.; Braga, J. M.; Capone, D.; Casmo, V.; Holcomb; D.; Molotkova, E.; Russo. ; Zambrana, W.; Nala, R.; Cumming, O.; Brown, J. Effect of an onsite shared sanitation intervention on markers of environmental enteric dysfunction in children living in Maputo, Mozambique. OSF Preprints. 2024. https://doi.org/10.31219/osf.io/emjx7

Capone, D.; Picard, C. Buzzing beyond annoyance: Flies as nature’s composite samplers of terrestrial fecal contamination. Environmental Science & Technology. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.4c11869

Capone, D.; Cumming, O.; †Flemister, A.; †Ilevbare, V.; Irish, S. R.; Keenum, I.; Knee, J.; Nala, R.; Brown, J. Sanitation in Urban Areas May Limit the Spread of Antimicrobial Resistance via Flies. PLoS One2024, 19 (3), e0298578. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0298578.

Walas, N.; Müller, N. F.; Parker, E.; Henderson, A.; Capone, D.; Brown, J.; Barker, T.; Graham, J. P. Application of Phylodynamics to Identify Spread of Antimicrobial-Resistant Escherichia Coli between Humans and Canines in an Urban Environment. Science of The Total Environment2024, 170139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170139.

Rao, G.; Capone, D.; Zhu, K.; Knoble, A.; Linden, Y.; †Clark, R.; Lai, A.; Kim, J.; Huang, C.-H.; Bivins, A.; Brown, J. Simultaneous Detection and Quantification of Multiple Pathogen Targets in Wastewater. PLOS Water2024, 3 (2), e0000224. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000224.

Mertens, A.; Arnold, B. F.; Benjamin-Chung, J.; Boehm, A. B.; Brown, J.; Capone, D.; Clasen, T.; Fuhrmeister, E. R.; Grembi, J. A.; Holcomb, D.; Knee, J.; Kwong, L. H.; Lin, A.; Luby, S. P.; Nala, R.; Nelson, K.; Njenga, S. M.; Null, C.; Pickering, A. J.; Rahman, M.; Reese, H. E.; Steinbaum, L.; Stewart, J. R.; Thilakaratne, R.; Cumming, O.; Colford, J. M.; Ercumen, A. Is Detection of Enteropathogens and Human or Animal Faecal Markers in the Environment Associated with Subsequent Child Enteric Infections and Growth: An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis. Lancet Global Health2024, 12 (3), e433–e444. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00563-6.

Smith, S. K.; Risk, B. B.; Holm, R. H.; Tilley, E.; Chigwechokha, P.; Capone, D.; Brown, J.; de los Reyes, F. L. Microbial Community Function and Bacterial Pathogen Composition in Pit Latrines in Peri-Urban Malawi. PLOS Water 2023, 2 (10), e0000171. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000171.

Maxcy-Brown, J.; Capone, D.; Elliott, M. A. Characterizing the Nature and Extent of Access to Unsafely Managed Sanitation in the United States. Nature Water 2023, 1 (11), 915–928. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44221-023-00157-7.

Capone, D.; Bakare, T.; Barker, T.; Chatham, A. H.; Clark, R.; Copperthwaite, L.; Flemister, A.; Geason, R.; Hoos, E.; Kim, E.; Manoj, A.; Pomper, S.; Samodal, C.; Smith, S.; Poole, C.; Brown, J. Risk Factors for Enteric Pathogen Exposure among Children in Black Belt Region of Alabama, USA. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 2023, 29 (12). https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2912.230780.

Poole, C.; Barker, T.; Bradbury, R.; Capone, D.; Chatham, A. H.; Handali, S.; Rodriguez, E.; Qvarnstrom, Y.; Brown, J. Cross-Sectional Study of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiases in Black Belt Region of Alabama, USA. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2023, 29 (12). https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2912.230751.

Harper, J.; Abdel Sattar, R.; Kozole, T.; Toeur, V.; Rogla, J.; Ross, M.; Ives, N.; Pruitt, H.; Soneja, P.; Capone, D. Microbial Hazards in Real-World Alternating Dual-Pit Latrines Treated with Storage and Lime in Rural Cambodia. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development 2023. https://doi.org/10.2166/washdev.2023.016.

Barker, T.; Capone, D.; Amato, H. K.; Clark, R.; Henderson, A.; Holcomb, D. A.; Kim, E.; Pape, J.; Parker, E.; VanderYacht, T.; Graham, J.; Brown, J. Public Toilets Have Reduced Enteric Pathogen Hazards in San Francisco. PLOS Water 2023, 2 (8), e0000152. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pwat.0000152.

Holcomb, D. A.; Monteiro, V.; Capone, D.; António, V.; Chiluvane, M.; Cumbane, V.; Ismael, N.; Knee, J.; Kowalsky, E.; Lai, A.; Linden, Y.; Mataveia, E.; Nala, R.; Rao, G.; Ribeiro, J.; Cumming, O.; Viegas, E.; Brown, J. Long-Term Impacts of an Urban Sanitation Intervention on Enteric Pathogens in Children in Maputo City, Mozambique: Study Protocol for a Cross-Sectional Follow-up to the Maputo Sanitation (MapSan) Trial 5 Years Postintervention. BMJ Open 2023, 13 (6), e067941. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-067941.

Brown, J.; Acey, C. S.; Anthonj, C.; Barrington, D. J.; Beal, C. D.; Capone, D.; Cumming, O.; Pullen Fedinick, K.; MacDonald Gibson, J.; Hicks, B.; Kozubik, M.; Lakatosova, N.; Linden, K. G.; Love, N. G.; Mattos, K. J.; Murphy, H. M.; Winkler, I. T. The Effects of Racism, Social Exclusion, and Discrimination on Achieving Universal Safe Water and Sanitation in High-Income Countries. Lancet Glob Health 2023, 11 (4), e606–e614. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2214-109X(23)00006-2.

Mertens, A.; Arnold, B. F.; Benjamin-Chung, J.; Boehm, A. B.; Brown, J.; Capone, D.; Clasen, T.; Fuhrmeister, E.; Grembi, J. A.; Holcomb, D.; Knee, J.; Kwong, L. H.; Lin, A.; Luby, S. P.; Nala, R.; Nelson, K.; Njenga, S. M.; Null, C.; Pickering, A. J.; Rahman, M.; Reese, H. E.; Steinbaum, L.; Stewart, J.; Thilakaratne, R.; Cumming, O.; Colford, J. M.; Ercumen, A. Effects of Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene Interventions on Detection of Enteropathogens and Host-Specific Faecal Markers in the Environment: A Systematic Review and Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis. Lancet Planetary Health 2023, 7 (3), e197–e208. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2542-5196(23)00028-1.

Capone, D.; Adriano, Z.; Cumming, O.; Irish, S.; Knee, J.; Nala, R.; Brown, J. Urban Onsite Sanitation Upgrades and Synanthropic Flies in Maputo, Mozambique: Effects on Enteric Pathogen Infection Risks. Environmental Science & Technology. 2023. 57(1):549-560. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06864.

Munk, P., Brinch, C., Møller, F.D., Petersen, T.N., Hendriksen, R.S., Seyfarth, A.M., Kjeldgaard, J.S., Svendsen, C.A., van Bunnik, B., Berglund, F., Global Sewage Surveillance Consortium (consortium member: D. Capone), Larsson, D.G.J., Koopmans, M., Woolhouse, M., & Aarestrup, F.M. 2022. Genomic analysis of sewage from 101 countries reveals global landscape of antimicrobial resistance. Nature Communications 13, Article number: 7251. doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34312-7.

Capone, D.; Barker, T.; Cumming, O.; Flemister, A.; Geason, R.; Kim, E.; Knee, J.; Linden, Y.; Manga, M.; Meldrum, M.; Nala, R.; Smith, S.; Brown, J. Persistent Ascaris Transmission Is Possible in Urban Areas Even Where Sanitation Coverage Is High. Environmental Science & Technology. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c04667.

Capone, D.; Bivins, A.; Brown, J. Producing Ratio Measures of Effect with Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment. Risk Analysis. 2022. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.13972.

Zhu, K. J.; Suttner, B.; Knee, J.; Capone, D.; Moe, C. L.; Stauber, C. E.; Konstantinidis, K. T.; Wallach, T. E.; Pickering, A. J.; Brown, J. Elevated Fecal Mitochondrial DNA from Symptomatic Norovirus Infections Suggests Potential Health Relevance of Human Mitochondrial DNA in Fecal Source Tracking. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2022. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.2c00140.

Capone, D.; Berendes, D.; Cumming, O.; Holcomb, D.; Knee, J.; Konstantinidis, K. T.; Levy, K.; Nalá, R.; Risk, B. B.; Stewart, J.; Brown, J. Impact of an Urban Sanitation Intervention on Enteric Pathogen Detection in Soils. Environmental Science and Technology.2021, 55 (14), 9989–10000. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c02168.

Holcomb, D. A.; Knee, J.; Capone, D.; Sumner, T.; Adriano, Z.; Nalá, R.; Cumming, O.; Brown, J.; Stewart, J. R. Impacts of an Urban Sanitation Intervention on Fecal Indicators and the Prevalence of Human Fecal Contamination in Mozambique. Environmental Science and Technology.2021, 55 (17), 11667–11679. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c01538.

Bick, S.; Buxton, H.; Chase, R. P.; Ross, I.; Adriano, Z.; Capone, D.; Knee, J.; Brown, J.; Nalá, R.; Cumming, O.; Dreibelbis, R. Using Path Analysis to Test Theory of Change: A Quantitative Process Evaluation of the MapSan Trial. BMC Public Health2021, 21 (1), 1411. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11364-w.

Knee, J.; Sumner, T.; Adriano, Z.; Anderson, C.; Bush, F.; Capone, D.; Casmo, V.; Holcomb, D. A.; Kolsky, P.; MacDougall, A.; Molotkova, E.; Braga, J. M.; Russo, C.; Schmidt, W. P.; Stewart, J.; Zambrana, W.; Zuin, V.; Nalá, R.; Cumming, O.; Brown, J. Effects of an Urban Sanitation Intervention on Childhood Enteric Infection and Diarrhea in Maputo, Mozambique: A Controlled before-and-after Trial. Elife2021, 10. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.62278.

Capone, D.; Chigwechokha, P.; de los Reyes III, F.; Holm, R.; Risk, B.; Tilley, E.; Brown, J. Impact of sampling depth on enteric pathogen detection in pit-latrines. PLoS NTDs, 2021, 55 (3), 1941–1952. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c06972.

Capone, D.; Bivins, A.; Cumming, O.; Knee, J.; Nala, R.; Brown, J. A quantitative microbial risk assessment of pediatric infections attributable to ingestion of fecally contaminated domestic soils in low-income urban Maputo, Mozambique. Environmental Science and Technology2021, 55 (3), 1941–1952. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c06972.

Capone, D.; Berendes, D.; Cumming, O.; Knee, J.; Nalá, R.; Risk, B. B.; Stauber, C.; Zhu, K.; Brown, J. Analysis of Fecal Sludges Reveals Common Enteric Pathogens in Urban Maputo, Mozambique. Environmental Science & Technology Letters.2020, 7 (12), 889–895. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00610.

Capone, D.; Cumming, O.; Nichols, D.; Brown, J. Water and Sanitation in Urban America, 2017-2019. J. Public Health2020, 110 (10), 1567–1572. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305833.

Capone, D.; Buxton, H.; Cumming, O.; Dreibelbis, R.; Knee, J.; Nalá, R.; Ross, I.; Brown, J. Impact of an Intervention to Improve Pit Latrine Emptying Practices in Low Income Urban Neighborhoods of Maputo, Mozambique. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health2020, 226. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2020.113480.

Berendes, D.; Capone, D.; Knee, J.; Holcomb, D.; Sultana, S.; Pickering, A. J.; Brown, J. Associations between Enteric Pathogen Carriage and Height-for-Age, Weight-for-Age and Weight-for-Height in Children under 5 Years Old in Urban Dhaka, Bangladesh. Epidemiology and Infection2020, 148, e39. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0950268820000369

Capone, D.; Adriano, Z.; Berendes, D.; Cumming, O.; Dreibelbis, R.; Holcomb, D. A.; Knee, J.; Ross, I.; Brown, J. A Localized Sanitation Status Index as a Proxy for Fecal Contamination in Urban Maputo, Mozambique. PLoS One2019, 14 (10), e0224333. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0224333.

Frye, E. A.; Capone, D.; Evans, D. P. Open Defecation in the United States: Perspectives from the Streets. Environmental Justice2019, 12 (5), 226–230. https://doi.org/10.1089/env.2018.0030.

Berendes, D.; Knee, J.; Sumner, T.; Capone, D.; Lai, A.; Wood, A.; Patel, S.; Nalá, R.; Cumming, O.; Brown, J. Gut Carriage of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes among Young Children in Urban Maputo, Mozambique: Associations with Enteric Pathogen Carriage and Environmental Risk Factors. PLoS One2019, 14 (11). e0225464. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0225464.

Capone, D.; Ferguson, A.; Gribble, M. O.; Brown, J. Open Defecation Sites, Unmet Sanitation Needs, and Potential Sanitary Risks in Atlanta Georgia 2017-2018. American Journal of Public Health2018, 108 (9), 1238–1240. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2018.304531.