AN ALERT ON CONTAMINATION OF WATER TO SPREAD COVID-19

Recently, G. D. Bhowmick et al., have a review reported the current scenario on the possibility of faecal–oral transmission of COVID-19 and related water contamination along with the precautionary measures that need to be taken by the government as well as by the individuals with an eye on knowledge-based scientific resolution to confront the COVID-19 outbreak [1].

The researchers have discussed the major routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission involve respiratory droplets and direct contact, the infection through faecal matter is also possible. Conventional sewage treatment methods with disinfection are expected to eradicate SARS-CoV-2. However, for densely populated countries with lower sewage treatment facilities, chances of contamination are extremely high; as SARS-CoVs can survive up to several days in untreated sewage; even for a much longer period in low-temperature regions. Around 1.8 billion people worldwide using faecal-contaminated source as drinking water, the risk of transmission of COVID-19 is expected to increase by several folds, if proper precautions are not being taken. Therefore, preventing water pollution at the collection/distribution/consumption point along with proper implementation of WHO recommendations for plumbing/ventilation systems in household is crucial for resisting COVID-19 eruption.

In general, the transmission of COVID-19 takes place via two basic routes reported in npj Clean Water (2020):

1. The First and foremost to emphasize the route of respiratory droplets. The respiratory droplets in the form of aerosols coming out of the protruding parts of the infected person’s face while sneezing or coughing can bring the risk of contaminating other people in close contact [2].

2. The second route is contact transmission, where the respiratory droplets may land on surfaces, which if come in contact with a healthy person can cause infection.

This is corroborative to the previously reported investigations performed while analyzing the transmission of various CoVs through contaminated water droplets and aerosols [3].

The scientists from Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IITK), India, mentioned that “Our current knowledge of huge SARS-CoV-2 load on saliva, sputum as well as in stool samples of COVID-19 patients, it can easily contaminate a large amount of wastewater being generated from the hospitals, quarantine centres and domestic households from the areas with positive COVID-19 cases. It can then contribute towards the elevated concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in the receiving water bodies if not being treated properly”.

They showed blueprint of the possibility of COVID-19 contamination scenario with potential human exposure in Figure 1.

Figure 1. The possibility of COVID-19 contamination scenario in the urban and rural water cycle with potential human exposure [1].

The surface water treatment plants are most susceptible to viral contamination specifically during the current COVID-19 outbreak situation. Although at present, there are no reliable data available on the load of viable SARS-CoV-2 causing infection through drinking, bathing, or recreational activities, the best way to halt any chances of the same is to treat the water before ingestion at the consumer end.

We can consider the techniques including the stress due to sunlight exposure, chemical dosing for reactive oxidative species formation, or predation by other microorganisms are employed in water treatment plants to mitigate the viral contamination in general.

The scientists from IITK are clearly mentioned following precautionary measures to be taken to control further spreading of COVID-19:

1. In order to ensure appropriate control over water quality, necessary measures required to be taken.

2. An adoption of a wastewater-based epidemiology approach will be useful for establishing an effective early warning system followed by implementation of a prompt intervention system for rapid on-site detection of SARS-CoV-2 at the wastewater source or at collection points [4,5].

3. Apart from conventional methods, in case of places, where safe piped water supplies and centralized water treatment facilities are not available, water disinfection techniques for households like boiling, nanofiltration, solar/UV irradiation or addition of free chlorine (bleaching powder) in appropriate doses, are also effective.

4. When properly installed, a septic system should be located at a distance and location should be suitably designed to avoid impacting a water supply well.

5. As per WHO guidelines, bathroom drains should be properly sealed, plumbing systems should be well-maintained and sprayers/faucets should have backflow valves to restrict entry of faecal aerosols into pumping/ventilation systems.

References

1. G.D. Bhowmick, D. Dhar, D. Nath, M.M. Ghangrekar, R. Banerjee, S. Das, J. Chatterjee, npj Clean Water (2020) 32.

2. Organization (WHO), W. H. Water, sanitation, hygiene, and waste management for the COVID-19 virus. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/331499/WHO-2019-nCoV-IPC_WASH-2020.2-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y (2020).

3. Casanova, L., Rutala, W. A., Weber, D. J. & Sobsey, M. D. Survival of surrogate coronaviruses in water. Water Res. 43, 1893–1898 (2009).

4. Hart, O. E. & Halden, R. U. Computational analysis of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 surveillance by wastewater-based epidemiology locally and globally: Feasibility, economy, opportunities and challenges. Sci. Total Environ. 730, 138875 (2020).

5. Ghernaout, D. & Elboughdiri, N. Environmental engineering for stopping viruses pandemics. Open Access Library J. https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1106299 (2020).

Blog Written By

Dr. A. S. GANESHRAJA

National College, Thiruchirappalli

Tamilnadu, India

Blog Editors

Dr. S. Chanrasekar

Dr. K. Rajkumar

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