Researchers in India find evidence of Covid-19 genes in sewage
Hindustan TimesIn what may be first evidence from India of the presence of the Sars-Cov-2 virus in sewage, the Indian Institute of Technology-Gandhinagar has found non-infectious genes of the coronavirus in wastewater samples collected from untreated sewage in an outlet in Ahmedabad. “Wastewater is an important source to monitor the presence and progress of the infection because the virus leaves the body of not only those who are symptomatic but also asymptomatic individuals through excretion,” said IIT-Gn professor Manish Kumar, who is leading the ongoing investigation. “We extracted virus RNA, amplified the dead genetic material and found all samples deterministically showed the presence of the three genes of the coronavirus,” said Kumar. Rakesh Kumar, director, CSIR-National Environmental Engineering and Research Institute, said wastewater-based surveillance is a complex process in India where the situation can change quickly and consequently, the virus load would also greatly vary.