Nagpur: CSIR-Neeri emphasised the importance of institutionalising wastewater surveillance for coronaviruses (SarsCov2) through the World Health Organisation (WHO) Coronavirus Network (CoViNet) initiative during an international meeting supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Program for Appropriate Technology in Health (PATH) in Ukraine on Monday.CoViNet is an initiative to enhance global efforts in tracking emerging SarsCov2 variants, MERS and other coronaviruses.
Dr Krishna Khairnar, principal scientist and head of environmental epidemiology at Neeri, made a virtual presentation during the seminar on ‘Fundamentals of Epidemiological Surveillance of Wastewater'. During a talk on ‘Environmental Surveillance of Coronaviruses: A WHO Perspective', he shared insights on institutionalising wastewater surveillance for coronaviruses through the WHO CoViNet initiative.
Dr Khairnar told TOI that Neeri plans to develop advanced technologies for wastewater-based epidemiology, including the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms to analyse wastewater data and predict disease outbreaks. PATH India's senior diagnostic lead, Praveen Kandasamy, discussed integrating Covid-19 testing infrastructure into broader pathogen surveillance systems.
PATH Senegal experts Saikou Oumar Ba and Papa Sokhna highlighted strategies for maintaining national wastewater information dashboards.
Experts in public health and epidemiology convened at Barvinok Village, Uzhgorod Region, Ukraine, to participate in the seminar. This event, aimed at advancing wastewater surveillance as a critical tool for public health, brought together over 60 govt officials from Ukraine, including epidemiologists and laboratory specialists from the regional Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, as well as representatives of the Ukrainian Public Health Centre.
The seminar, supported by USAID and PATH Ukraine's ‘Support TB Efforts in Ukraine' project, featured diverse sessions led by renowned facilitators. Key speakers included Gunta Dravniece, project director at PATH Ukraine, and Dr Khairnar.
On the second and third days, participants gained practical experience in wastewater surveillance across various Ukrainian regions, including Dnipropetrovsk, Lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv. These sessions showcased achievements, challenges, and solutions drawn from regional experiences. The closing session summarised the seminar's outcomes, emphasising the next steps for scaling wastewater surveillance nationwide.
With its focus on leveraging wastewater surveillance to monitor pathogens and improve public health responses, the seminar marked a pivotal moment for epidemiological advancements in Ukraine and beyond.