Can We remove Coronavirus from water cycle ? Know here

Coronavirus can remains for days or even longer in sewage or drinking water.

We are working on removal of coronavirus from humans but do we think about water.

Removal of coronavirus from drinking and sewage water is also a big challenge for us to fight against pandemic COVID19 across the world.

So there is need for more research to keep Coronavirus out of the water cycle.

Recently two researcher, Professor Vincenzo Naddeo, director of the Sanitary Environmental Engineering Division at the University of Salerno and Haizhou Liu, an associate professor of chemical and environmental engineering at the University of California, Riverside,  have asked  for more research and analysis  to determine whether water treatment methods are effective in killing SARS-CoV-19 and corona viruses in general.

The researcher wrote in an editorial for Environment science ,” The Virus can be transported in microscopic water droplet, or aerosols , which enter the air through evaporation”.

"The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic highlights the urgent need for a careful evaluation of the fate and control of this contagious virus in the environment," Haizhou Liu said.

The coronavirus could also colonize biofilms that line drinking water systems, making showerheads a possible source of aerosolized transmission. This transmission pathway is thought to be a major source of exposure to the bacteria that causes Legionnaire's disease, for example.

Most of water treatment process are thought to remove coronaviruses effectively in both drinking and sewage water.  The viruses are killed through oxidation with hypochlorous acid or peracetic acid, and inactivation by ultraviolet irradiation.

In sewage sludge viruses are filter out through use of membrane bioreactors and physical separation of suspended solid filter.

As per the Liu and Naddeo, most of these methods  have not been studied for effectiveness on SARS-CoV-19 and other coronaviruses. And the researchers have demand for more research and analysis.

The researcher have suggested to upgrade existing water and waste water treatment plant in the affected area, where coronavirus can transmitted from hospitals , community clinics and nursing homes.

In many society and cities where portable water reuse system is used, should be checked for coronavirus removal from the purified water.

Treated waste water or sewage water , discharged in water bodies, should be monitor through entire water cycle.

Liu and Naddeo ask chemists, environmental engineers, microbiologists, and public health specialists to develop multidisciplinary and practical solutions for safe drinking water and healthy aquatic environments.

There is a big challenge for developing nations or other nations to implement the system for water purification in villages, where no water treatment facilities are available. Government should  focus on providing infrastructures for water purification at village level to control the coronavirus outbreak.

#IndiafightCorona

Source :https://www.sciencedaily.com/

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