CUPSC Relevance
Prelims: General Science (Health - Communicable diseases, Pathogens); Science & Technology (Biotechnology - Genome Sequencing); Governance (Public Health initiatives, Role of ICMR).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Health & Governance): Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health.
General Studies Paper 3 (S&T, Disaster Management): Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life; Disaster and disaster management (as an early warning tool for epidemics/pandemics).
Key Highlights from the News
Wastewater Surveillance is a public health monitoring system that can provide early warnings about potential disease outbreaks in a community by testing wastewater.
Pathogens released in the feces and urine of infected individuals (both symptomatic and asymptomatic) are detected in wastewater samples.
Key advantages of this system:
Can detect pathogens even from asymptomatic individuals.
Can indicate a disease outbreak up to a week before patients are reported in large numbers in hospitals.
Many countries, including India, have successfully used this system to monitor diseases like polio, cholera, and COVID-19.
Now, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is going to launch a new project to monitor 10 types of viruses in 50 Indian cities.
The article states that a national wastewater surveillance system is needed to make this system more efficient.
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