Sewage samples will find infection: Preparation for investigation in 50 cities of the country, for the first time, RT-PCR test of sewage samples will be done

Preparations are on to test sewage samples for the first time in the country to find out how much infection is there in the community of an area and to what extent it has spread.

For the first time in the country, preparations are being made to test sewage samples to find out how much corona virus infection is there in the community of an area and to what extent it has spread. It will soon start in more than 50 major cities including the capital of almost all the states of the country. Sewage samples will be subjected to RT-PCR test in the lab. This will tell whether there is an infection in that area or not. If so, to what level?

Kovid-19 National Technical Advisory Group on Immunization (NTAGI) Chairman Prof. NK Arora said that this will show that what is the status of infection in the area where people are not getting tested or testing is not being done. Former head of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium, Prof. Shahid Jameel says that the big advantage of this will be that whether there is an infection in the community or not, it will be known. Not only this, there will be no need to take individual samples on a large scale for sero survey. This will also save time, money and human resources.

Less profit in the country because 100% treatment system in 4 cities only
Is sewage testing necessary?
Sewage never lies. The parts of what you eat and drink are present in the waste of the body. By examining the sewage sample, bacteria, viruses, drug residues and health can be assessed in it.

Has this ever happened before?
Before Corona, they used to find out from the sewage investigation where illegal drugs like cocaine are being used.

Where in the world is this happening?
Since the first Covid-19 case was found in Switzerland, sewage testing was started to understand regional infection. America, Netherlands are also adopting this process.

How is it effective in Corona?
If a person is infected, signs of the virus begin to be found in the waste a few days before the symptoms of the disease appear. The infection remains in the body for 4 weeks after the test negative.

Where can it be used?
Community investigation is possible in countries with a solid wastewater management system.

What is the benefit of sewage testing?
Instead of the entire country, lockdown in a particular region can control the corona, so that the economy continues.

How long does corona survive in sewage?
The corona virus survives in sewage for two days. During this, if it reaches a pond, lake or river without treatment, it can survive for 10 days.

How effective will it be to identify Corona from sewage in India?
According to the data of the ENVIS Center of the Ministry of Environment, as of April 2021, 72,368 MLD of sewage is generated in India every day. Out of this, only 31,841 MLD is treated, while only 26,869 MLD capacity treatment plants are operational. That is, about 63% of sewage is flowing without treatment.

How many cities of India have complete sewage treatment system?
As per the available data till date, 4 cities in the country (Hyderabad, Vadodara, Ludhiana, Chennai) have 100% sewage treatment capacity. There is no data for 11 cities like Bengaluru and Amritsar. There are 4 cities (Ahmedabad 96%, Mumbai 80%, Delhi 61%, Pune 64%) with capacity above 60%. In rest of the cities the capacity is less than 50%. At the bottom are Bhopal (6%), Lucknow (11%) and Jaipur (11%).

(Report of Dr. Christoph Oort Wastewater Epidemiologist, Switzerland and Ministry of Environment of India)