Indian Sars-CoV-2 Genomic Consortium (Insacog) would soon initiate its environmental surveillance by collecting samples from sewage and gutters across the country to detect the different COVID-19 strains present in the community. Initially, it would collect samples from four to five cities and slowly expand to highly populated areas throughout the country.

Chief of NTAGI′s Covid Task Group stated that standardized protocols have been devised to check the degree of circulation of coronavirus in the environment, adding that environmental surveillance will complement human surveillance. Till now, coronavirus was detected only through human sampling. As the cases were declining, a smart move would be to check the existence of the virus in both the environment and in humans. Such an initiative would help the researchers to characterize the dominant strain, mutations and geographical indicators, if any. (ET Healthworld - TNN, March 23, 2022)