Research Projects

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has significantly impacted human health, economy, and the environment. Monitoring the virus's spread and complications is challenging, especially in asymptomatic individuals. To address this issue, a holistic approach to understanding the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 is proposed. Kerela, a severely affected state in India, is proposed to use wastewater-based epidemiological monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in open wastewater systems in major cities. Wastewater samples will be collected and processed for detection using qRT-PCR. The samples will be inactivated by heating at 56°C for 1 hour, followed by filtration with a 0.22µm filter. The filtrate will be concentrated by overnight PEG precipitation and centrifugation. The extracted RNA will be checked for quality and quantified for specific genes of the coronavirus. The whole genome sequencing of SARS CoV-2 positive wastewater samples will be used to understand emerging mutations in SARS CoV-2 variants using bioinformatics and computational approaches. This knowledge is crucial for discovering new SARS-Cov2 variants, COVID-19 markers, therapeutic targets, and molecules to combat SARS CoV-2 complications. Regular monitoring is critical for predicting the emergence of novel SARS-CoV-2 strains before serious complications and alerting authorities to tackle the problem with appropriate strategies. A one-month pilot study has been conducted in major open sewage treatment plants in Muttathra, Trivandrum, Kerela.

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