Traces of the virus that causes Covid-19 have been found in sewage water samples collected in Lucknow, officials have said. The process for the collection of sewage water has been initiated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the country’s premier scientific body, and the World Health Organization (WHO) across several cities.
The Sars-CoV-2 virus was detected in wastewater samples from Rukpur Khadra in the Uttar Pradesh capital on May 19. Samples were collected from Ghantaghar and Machhli Mohal areas as well. Previously, the virus was detected in wastewater samples in Mumbai.
While Sars-CoV-2 can be shed in the faeces of individuals with Covid-19, there is “no information to date that anyone has become sick with the viral infection because of direct exposure to treated or untreated wastewater”, which includes water from toilets and sinks, according to America’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Lucknow’s Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGI) is among India’s eight centres earmarked for testing sewage water samples for traces of the virus. The Lucknow samples were studied at the SGPGI lab.
ICMR and WHO have been conveyed about the development, Dr Ujjwala Ghoshal, the head of the microbiology department at SGPGI, said. Ghoshal said this was a preliminary study and the samples will be looked at in detail. Samples will also be collected from other parts of the state and they will be part of a larger study.
The US CDC says sewage water testing has been successfully used as a method for early detection of other diseases, such as polio. Sars-CoV-2 can be shed in the faeces of “individuals with symptomatic or asymptomatic infection; therefore, wastewater surveillance can capture data on both types of infection”, its website says.
A section of experts believes information on the disease and its spread in a large population can be gained through wastewater sampling for the RNA of the virus. Such studies have been conducted in the US, UK, France, Italy, France and Canada, according to reports.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here