Traces of coronavirus found in sewage in Gujarat.

 

Traces of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), have been found in sewage samples in Gujarat, prompting a central agency to consider strengthening surveillance and study whether contaminated sewage can cause infection.


Traces of Sars-CoV-2, the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (Covid-19), have been found in sewage samples in Gujarat, prompting a central agency to consider strengthening surveillance and study whether contaminated sewage can cause infection.

“The next step obviously is to determine whether there is risk of infection through this channel or not. However it will still take some time before we start on that as currently there are several surveillance initiatives that need immediate attention,” said an official in the Union ministry of health, requesting not to be identified.

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Only Gujarat has so far reported the presence of the virus in sewage, “and we need to see if other states also report it,” the official added. “We will continue sewage sample testing for some time.”

Taking the help of its robust polio surveillance system that regularly tests sewage samples for presence of polio viruses, India’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) started sewage sample testing to detect the presence of the Sars-Cov-2 virus in an attempt to strengthen Covid-19 surveillance.

Also read| Covid-19: What you need to know today

Such surveillance has been a key component of India’s successful fight against he poliomyelitis virus that enters through the mouth and multiplies in the intestine. Although India has been polio-free since 2011, surveillance is still underway because the disease is still endemic in three countries--Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria.

“We have World Health Organisation (WHO) reference lab for polio surveillance which conducts tests on regular basis on sewage samples to check for the presence of polio viruses. The same lab and its surveillance system, including manpower, is being used to monitor the presence of Sars-Cov-2 in sewage samples,” said the official quoted above.

NCDC, which spearheads all disease surveillance projects in the country, along with its partners, began sewage sample testing around April. The focus states were Gujarat, Maharashtra and Delhi that had a high Covid-19 disease burden.

 

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