Arbind Kumar Patel

Bio: Arbind Kumar Patel is an academic researcher from Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar. The author has contributed to research in topics: Groundwater & Aquifer. The author has an hindex of 17, co-authored 29 publications receiving 783 citations. Previous affiliations of Arbind Kumar Patel include Tezpur University.

The first proof of the capability of wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 in India through the detection of the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2

Abstract: we made the first ever successful effort from India to detect the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2 viruses to understand the capability and application of WBE surveillance in India. Sampling was carried out on 8 and 27 May, 2020 from Old Pirana Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) at Ahmedabad, Gujarat with 106 million liters per day (MLD) capacity receiving effluent of Civil Hospital treating COVID-19 patient. All three i.e. ORF1ab, N and S genes of SARS-CoV-2 were discerned in the influents with no gene spotted in the effluent collected on 8 and 27 May 2020. Temporal difference between 8 and 27 May 2020 samples was of 10x in gene copy loading with corresponding change of 2x in the number active COVID-19 patient in the city. Number of gene copies was found comparable to that reported in the untreated wastewaters of Australia, China and Turkey and lower than that of the USA, France and Spain. This study, being the first from India and probably among the first ten reports in the world of gene detection of SARS-CoV-2 in the environmental samples, aims to assist concerned authorities and policymakers to formulate and/or upgrade the COVID-19 surveillance to have explicit picture of phase of the pandemic. While infectious SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be identified in the aquatic environment, the virus potentially enters the wastewater stream from patient excretions and thus can be a great tool for pandemic monitoring. HIGHLIGHTS □First ever report of the presence of gene of SARS-CoV-2 in the wastewater in India. □CT value is explicitly indicative of the increase of COVID-19 patient in the vicinity. □All three i.e. ORF1ab, N and S genes of SARS-CoV-2 were discerned in the influents. □None of three genes were spotted in the effluent collected on 8 and 27 May 2020. □Wastewater surveillance conclusively specified temporal difference in COVID-19 load. □Temporal difference was 10x and 2x in gene copies and COVID-19 patient, respectively.

Effect of Temperature

Abstract: A positive temperature coefficient is the term which has been used to indicate that an increase in solubility occurs as the temperature is raised, whereas a negative coefficient indicates a decrease in solubility with rise in temperature.

Resistance in the Environment

Abstract: Antibiotics, disinfectants and bacteria resistant to them have been detected in environmental compartments such as waste water, surface water, ground water, sediments and soils. Antibiotics are released into the environment after their use in medicine, veterinary medicine and their employment as growth promoters in animal husbandry, fish farming and other fields. There is increasing concern about the growing resistance of pathogenic bacteria in the environment, and their ecotoxic effects. Increasingly, antibiotic resistance is seen as an ecological problem. This includes both the ecology of resistance genes and that of the resistant bacteria themselves. Little is known about the effects of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics and disinfectants on environmental bacteria, especially with respect to resistance. According to the present state of our knowledge, the impact on the frequency of resistance transfer by antibacterials present in the environment is questionable. The input of resistant bacteria into the environment seems to be an important source of resistance in the environment. The possible impact of resistant bacteria on the environment is not yet known. Further research into these issues is warranted.