In Chandigarh, sewage samples were collected for the first time and found to be positive for Covid-19.
As part of the WHO-ICMR Centre's "environment surveillance for Covid-19," the samples were examined by PGI's Department of Virology.
According to Sources, Prof Mini P Singh stated, "Samples examined in the month of December were confirmed to be negative for Covid-19." Following a recent spike in Covid infections, the virus has been found in sewage samples. To keep track of the trend, the samples are examined once a week at each location."
In December, PGI began analysing samples from wastewater treatment plants in Chandigarh and Punjab's Amritsar.
The samples were taken at the Diggian sewage treatment plant and the BRD plant in the city.
Similar strategies have been used in the past to monitor polio cases. The polio virus is also found in human faeces.
Similarly, Covid-19 surveillance in sewage samples can be employed as an epidemiological tool as a marker of virus transmission, allowing for the implementation of suitable preventive measures in a specific catchment area.
The sample was examined on an RT-PCR equipment to see if the SARS-CoV-2 virus was present in the wastewater via fragments of genetic material (RNA). Seven to eight sewage treatment plants in Delhi will soon begin submitting sewage samples to Chandigarh's PGI for Covid identification.
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