Wastewater analysis can help predict virus breakout faster

Published : Jul 20, 2022 18:20 IST The Tata Institute for Genetics and Society in Bengaluru is standardising a set of protocols that can be used by municipalities across India for effectively monitoring pathogens in wastewater. Speaking to Frontline, Dr Rakesh Mishra, Director, TIGS, explained that wastewater analysis “has complemented routine diagnostic surveillance by capturing near real-time virus circulation at a population level in very reliable and unbiased manner”. Mishra, who headed the Center for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad, until May 2021, told Frontline that wastewater surveillance allows scientists to test an entire city “without even one clinical sample needing to be collected”. Said Mishra: “Wastewater analysis gives granular data, as wards/localities contributing to each wastewater source can be mapped and provides scientists an inkling of the extent of any pathogens or infectious diseases in a specific part of the city.” Mishra added that the TIGS’ wastewater epidemiology protocols would also create business opportunities for entrepreneurs, who, after establishing a business model using the protocols, can market the service to civic administrations. Although wastewater epidemiology got a fillip because of pioneering work on the COVID-19 virus, scientists such as Mishra say that the same strategy could also be applied to “other viral diseases, like dengue and chikungunya, and ensure better target mitigation measures”.