Research Projects

Environmental surveillance using wastewater testing has been widely used to detect the spread of Poliovirus and SARS CoV2 during the current pandemic. Researchers have monitored five community toilet septic tanks, one hospital wastewater, one city sewage treatment plant, and our Institute sewage treatment plant for SARS CoV2. As the Omicron wave started, all samples showed positive for SARS CoV2, indicating a faster infection rate. RNA survived longer in septic tanks. With travel restrictions easing out and Covid becoming part of our lives, it is essential to monitor community transmissions and import of SARS CoV2 to cities. Wastewater Surveillance can be implemented in places like airports to advise governments on travel restrictions before the onset of next waves. Goa, a touristic destination, attracts tourists from around the world. Controlling importation of new strains through travelers is crucial to manage community transmissions. This proposal aims to connect analytical data from determining SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at Goa airport with the known COVID-19 infection rate, import risk, and flight data. Permission from Goa airport for wastewater collection has been received. The study will track wastewater at the airport to understand the import of SARS CoV2 risk and its different variants. Samples will be collected daily for one year, and the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 will be determined by sample collection and preparation protocols. A modelling tool will be developed to estimate future patterns of SARS CoV2 transmission.

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