Hyderabad: Around 6 lakh people may have been affected by SARS-CoV-2, says study

A study released by the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) stated that around 6 lakh people in Hyderabad could have been infected by COVID-19 in 35 days. These include symptomatic and asymptomatic patients and also recently recovered individuals.

Adding a notable point, the CCMB press release mentioned that  individuals who are infected by SARS-CoV-2 shed virus not only through nasal and oral routes but also through faeces and it provides an opportunity to "use sewage/wastewater samples to estimate the spread of the infection in a given locality or area".

The reason cited for the sewage samples being suitable for epidemiological studies was that the sewage samples in SARS-CoV-2 are non-infectious. The release said that since an infected person sheds viral material in faecal samples for up to 35 days, these studies will provide an overall estimate of the situation in a window of one month. 

It said that of the 1800 million litres water used daily in Hyderabad, 40 per cent is processed at different sewage treatment plants (STPs). CSIR-CCMB and CSIR-IICT harvested the sewage samples to estimate the number of potentially infected individuals in the city in a collaborative effort. Sewage samples from major STPs were processed for detecting the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA.

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Coronavirus in Telangana

Meanwhile, Telangana on Friday reported 1,967 new COVID-19 cases as the overall tally neared the one lakh mark in the state. The death toll rose to 737 with eight more fatalities, a state government bulletin said on Friday, providing data as of 8 pm on August 20.

The 1,967 new infections pushed the overall count in the state to 99,391. The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) recorded 473 fresh infections, followed by Rangareddy (202), Medchal-Malkajgiri (170) and Warangal Urban (101) districts.

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