Fight Against COVID-19

COVID-19 Response: Young Scientists Are Among India's Unsung Heroes .This would not have been possible without the help of the students and administration at CSIR-CCMB.

We (students at CCMB and IICT, India) developed the technology to identify the spread of COVID-19 using wastewater/sewage. We were able to show that there is a direct correlation of the amount of viral genomic contents found in sewage to the number of individuals infected in upstream of the samples sewage treatment plant (STP). The results of the study were peer-reviewed and published in Science of the Total Environment  journal. The technology is now being used across India and other parts of the world to monitor different kinds of infection causing agents. 

COVID-19 pandemic presented an unprecedented challenge to humanity, and the governments and health agencies had to quickly devise strategies to control the disease spread. Screening people for the virus was a key step in preventing its spread, but in a populous country like India, this required technical expertise and facilities. 

The COVID-19 pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 virus has affected normal life globally. In India, the virus spread faster than measures taken to stop it, resulting in stringent measures such as complete lockdown. With no drug or vaccine available, the only way to fight the pandemic is by diagnosing and containing positive cases. However, expertise in handling patient samples and performing RTPCR tests was limited, causing delays in testing.