Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak: some serious consequences with urban and rural water cycle

• Published in: npj clean water Vol. 3; no. 1
• Main Authors: Bhowmick, Gourav Dhar, Dhar, Dhruba, Nath, Dibyojyoty, Ghangrekar, Makarand Madhao, Banerjee, Rintu, Das, Soumen, Chatterjee, Jyotirmoy
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 03.07.2020; Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: 704/172; 706/2805; Accident prevention; Aquatic Pollution; Contamination; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Disinfection; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Hydrologic cycle; Low temperature; Mechanical ventilation; Nanotechnology; Outbreaks; Population density; Review Article; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sewage; Sewage disposal; Sewage treatment; Ventilation; Viral diseases; Waste treatment; Waste Water Technology; Wastewater treatment; Water Industry/Water Technologies; Water Management; Water pollution; Water Pollution Control; Water pollution prevention; Water Quality/Water Pollution; Waterborne diseases
• ISSN: 2059-7037; 2059-7037
• DOI: 10.1038/s41545-020-0079-1

The COVID-19 outbreak due to SARS-CoV-2 has raised several concerns for its high transmission rate and unavailability of any treatment to date. Although major routes of its 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 like India 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. With 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.