How can 'wastewater' be used for COVID-19 test?

Though, the largest democratic country, has not yet reached in the third stage of Coronavirus pandemic. But, if the largest democracy comes under the deadly third stage, then it will definitely become troublesome for the government to test such a humongous population. To get rid of the situation, several scientists and resaechers have started analysing 'wastewater' as a way to estimate the total number of infections in a community, given that most people will not be tested.

Hyderabad:So far, China has been the only country to experience Stage 4, where the spread is practically uncontrollable and there are many major clusters of infection all over the country.

Though, country like India- the largest democratic country, has not yet reached in the third stage of the deadly virus which claims more than 59,000 lives and infected 11,31,713 people worldwide. But, if the largest democracy comes under the deadly third stage, then it will definitely become troublesome for the government to test such a humongous number of population.

To get rid of the situation, several scientists and resaechers have started analysing 'wastewater' as a way to estimate the total number of infections in a community, given that most people will not be tested.

According to the researchers, used water that goes through the drainage system to a treatment facility — is one way to track infectious diseases that are excreted in urine or faeces, such as SARS-CoV-2.

Scientists representing the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences in Australia said that researchers will also need to ensure that they are looking at a representative sample of what is being excreted by the population and not just one snapshot in time.

As of now, researchers have found traces of the virus in the Netherlands, the United States and Sweden with the help of 'wastewater analysing' technique.

Some researchers claimed that preventive measures like social distancing, washing hand at a regular interval of time and wearing face mask could suppress the current pandemic but the deadly virus could return once such measures are lifted.

We might have surprise after comprehending the technique, Charles Gerba, an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona in Tucson and a researcher who has found traces of SARS-CoV-2 in raw sewage in Tucson has claimed that the technique of 'wastewater monitoring' has been used for decades to assess the success of vaccination campaigns against poliovirus.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a pandemic over a new coronavirus which causes an illness known as COVID-19 that has spread to at least 180 countries and territories.

The disease has killed more than 53,000 people and infected more than 1 million, according to the data collected by worldometer.