Coronavirus in sewage, 6 lakh people from Hyderabad got infected with coronavirus: Study

Hyderabad's Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) suggests that at least six lakh people from the city might have been infected with the coronavirus.

The findings of CSIR-CCMB said that the coronavirus patient not only releases the virus through nasal and oral but also through his faeces. It said that an infected person can shed the virus particles through his faeces for about 35 days.

It was concluded by the CCMB after research on the sewage samples from Hyderabad.

CCMB along with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) collected the samples from 80 per cent of sewerage treatment plants in the city. The research claimed that nearly two lakh people are actively shedding the virus particles when the number of positive cases in Telangana is below 1 lakh.

It is to be notified that only 40 per cent of the sewage water reaches treatment plants. Meanwhile, the research concluded that around 6 lakh people, which is around 6 per cent of Hyderabad population might have got the infection including asymptomatic, symptomatic and recovered in the last 35 days.

Regular sampling of sewage in collaboration with civic bodies can help the government to take measures and check the spread of coronavirus, CCMB director Rakesh Mishra said adding that the virus in sewage is not infectious.