Pathogen monitoring in air and wastewater
SEEING THE INVISIBLE. INFORMING ACTION.
We sample and analyze air, wastewater and seawater to generate a new layer of insight into pathogen presence, enabling early detection and smarter, more proactive decisions.
Our mission
Lungfish is an open-source research collaborative that seeks to better understand the health of our communities and ecosystems by monitoring biological and chemical signals in our environment. Making the invisible visible: We monitor change to generate insights that inform action.
Why it mattersClinical data often arrives after transmission is already underway. Many infections are never captured by traditional testing, leaving communities to react instead of prepare.
View our Data
Our findings
Explore pathogen detections and trends
Our dashboards turn environmental data into clear, accessible views of pathogen activity and trends.
Browse public dashboards →View public research data
Browse the research data, charts and maps that Lungfish makes publicly available.
See the Open Data Portal →Access your site’s Data Hub
Participating sites can view their results and manage their organization, users and devices.
Sign in to the Data Hub →What we do
How it works
We sequence genetic material from wastewater, air, groundwater, and seawater.
Air sampling
How it worksA small device draws air through a filter to collect genetic material from shared indoor spaces. The collected material is tested using methods selected for the research program.
Explore air sampling →
Wastewater sampling
Wastewater brings together genetic material from the population and environment served by a collection site. Researchers analyze samples to investigate pathogen signals over time.
How it worksComposite samples are collected from treatment plants or defined wastewater collection areas and sent for laboratory analysis.
Explore wastewater sampling →Looking beyond a fixed list of targets
A pathogen-agnostic approach
Targeted tests look for selected pathogens. Metagenomic sequencing captures everything: known pathogens, novel variants, sequences that don't match any database. By using this technique alongside targeted panels, we can detect thousands of human, animal or agricultural microbes, including emerging threats that no one knew to test for.
Scientists, partners, and communities working together
Who we are
Our network spans multiple countries, dozens of partners, and diverse environments — from schools and hospitals to wildlife sites and international public health projects.
Our mission
We turn signals from air and water into shared knowledge that helps communities understand what is circulating and make informed decisions. Through open research and collaboration, we work toward earlier awareness of emerging threats and better preparedness.
Learn more →A research collaborative
Lungfish is an environmental monitoring initiative founded by Inkfish and developed in collaboration with an interdisciplinary team of researchers and partner sites.
About our partners →Environmental monitoring in action
Our projects
Explore the impact of our research and how the Lungfish programs are being deployed across the world.
Tracking tuberculosis in Nepal
We are partnering with the Birat Nepal Medical Trust to understand whether air sampling is valuable for tuberculosis detection in crowded, indoor spaces. TB remains a leading cause of death globally, killing ~1.24 million people in 2024 according to the WHO.
Read about the Nepal research →Air sampling in Zambia
In 2025, we successfully detected SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A through air sampling at the Macha Hospital in Zambia, demonstrating that this technology works in resource-limited settings.
Read about the Zambia research →Wastewater sampling in Columbia, MO
By generating billions of reads across 18 consecutive months, we captured expected pathogens, but also unexpected ones, such as influenza C, hepatitis A, and highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1, demonstrating how untargeted ultra deep metagenomic sequencing can enhance pandemic preparedness.
Detecting viral dark matter
Lungfish monitors over 44 sewersheds across major cities like Chicago, Boston, and New York, cataloging more than 20,000 previously unmapped viral genomes to build one of the most comprehensive environmental virome libraries in existence.
See the Wastewater Pathogen Monitoring Dashboards →Measles early warning
We detected measles in wastewater from two states before any clinical cases had been reported, giving officials precious lead time to respond and encourage vaccination.
Read the measles research →Join the Lungfish network
Become a site
Interested in bringing environmental monitoring to your community or organization? Contact our team to learn more about participating in our air and wastewater sampling programs.
Get in touchResources
Want to learn more?
User manuals
All the guidance you need to begin sampling.