ISLAMABAD: While two years ago, long queues of passengers were observed at international airports to get themselves tested for Covid-19, the National Institute of Health (NIH) has decided to start a pilot project at the Islamabad airport to initially collect wastewater of airlines for Covid-19 genomic sequencing.

NIH is the pioneer of the project as two years ago its study on genomic sequencing through wastewater was published in an international journal and discussed across the globe. Now United States has also started considering genomic sequencing through wastewater.

Genomic sequencing is a process to decipher the genetic material found in an organism or virus. Sequences from specimens can be compared to help scientists track the spread of a virus, how it is changing and how those changes may affect public health.

According to a document of NIH, available with Dawn, a volume of one litre of wastewater will be collected in a sterile sample bottle (jerrycan). The sample will be stored in four degrees Centigrade temperature until it would be transported to NIH within 24 hours. The sample will be transported to the department of virology the same day or overnight through a cold chain packaging system with cold packs in ice-bucket for further testing.

An official of NIH, requesting not to be quoted, said in early days of Covid-19 the institute had conducted a study on genomic sequencing of wastewater to detect different and new variants of the virus.

“Now we have spoken to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) as the NIH has already procured high-tech equipment to do genomic sequencing. A decade ago, samples were sent abroad for genomic sequencing,” he said.

The official said it can become difficult and annoying to force passengers to wait in queues for a Covid-19 test.

“It will be easy to collect a sample of wastewater from a plane and test it. Moreover, according to studies, infected persons start excreting virus in urine much earlier than the appearance of symptoms. So such persons can be traced much earlier than they start transmitting the virus. Airlines can be directed to maintain a record that how many passengers went to the toilet,” he said.

“United States has also started working on the same project. In future, more airports can be included and the methodology can be used for detection of viruses of a number of other diseases,” he said.

Another official of the NIH said collecting wastewater was a method of surveillance and detecting virus without putting people into inconvenience.

“After detecting the virus, passengers can be traced and tested for the viruses or all the passengers can be advised to stay in quarantine for five days to avoid chances of spread of the virus,” he said.

The Covid-19 virus was detected in China in December 2019 and then it started spreading in other countries. Pakistan had closed its borders and took a number of steps to stop the transmission due to which the first case was reported in the last week of February 2020. On March 13, the first meeting of the National Security Committee (NSC) was held to discuss the crisis which was later declared pandemic by World Health Organisation (WHO).

Published in Dawn, February 1st, 2023