A STUDY in Pune’s open wast water drains from December 2020 to March 2021 has not only been able to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid, but also picked up key mutations circulating in the community.

A STUDY in Pune’s open wast water drains from December 2020 to March 2021 has not only been able to assess the presence of SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid, but also picked up key mutations circulating in the community. The study provides evidence on how waste water sequencing identified mutations, and shows variants in circulation before being observed through clinical data. Waste water sequencing analysis revealed mutations L452R and E484Q associated with B. 1. 617 lineage in samples collected during March. These mutations were absent in samples collected from December 2020 to February 2021. “The study is significant as it is a first-of-its-kind in the country to test capability of waste water sequencing data to provide mutations in circulation before they are observed clinically. Through waste water epidemiology, we could identify mutations associated with SARS-CoV-2, and that can function as an early warning indicator system, ” said Tanmay Dharmadhikari, Vinay Rajput and others from researchers from CSIR-NCL. The study was supported by funding from Science Engineering and Research Board (GoI), New Delhi, to researchers of CSIR-NCL. In their paper ‘High throughput sequencing based detection of SARS-CoV-2 prevailing in waste water of Pune, West India’ posted as a preprint on medRxiV ( a non peer-reviewed platform) on June 9, scientists have said the tracking of genomic variants from waste water was essential to understand the spread. These findings will soon be communicated to a peer-reviewed journal. Also Read |Over 2. 5 crore get the jab in Maharashtra, close to 33 lakh vaccinated in Pune district The Indian Express on June 8 reported that a team of scientists from CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory had made an official presentation to Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on their pilot study that was able to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage samples. Pune Municipal Commissioner Vikram Kumar had also indicated that they would continue the project for another year in anticipation of future waves of the Covid-19 pandemic. The funding for another year has been sanctioned as part of the CSIR project. The study found all the waste water samples collected between December 2020 and March 2021 were positive for SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid fragments. The analysis showed several mutations in multiple genomic regions of SARS-CoV-2, said Dr Mahesh Dharne, scientist, biochemical sciences division, CSIR-NCL, and project coordinator of the pilot study. The Ecosan Services Foundation, an NGO, partnered in the study