Transmission of SARS-Cov-2 and other enveloped viruses to the environment through protective gear: a brief review

Elucidating the role of environmental management of forests, air quality, solid waste and wastewater on the dissemination of SARS-CoV-2

The increasing frequency of zoonotic diseases is amongst several catastrophic repercussions of inadequate environmental management. Emergence, prevalence, and lethality of zoonotic diseases is intrinsically linked to environmental management which are currently at a destructive level globally. The effects of these links are complicated and interdependent, creating an urgent need of elucidating the role of environmental mismanagement to improve our resilience to future pandemics. This review focused on the pertinent role of forests, outdoor air, indoor air, solid waste and wastewater management in COVID-19 dissemination to analyze the opportunities prevailing to control infectious diseases considering relevant data from previous disease outbreaks. Global forest management is currently detrimental and hotspots of forest fragmentation have demonstrated to result in zoonotic disease emergences. Deforestation is reported to increase susceptibility to COVID-19 due to wildfire induced pollution and loss of forest ecosystem services. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 like viruses in multiple animal species also point to the impacts of biodiversity loss and forest fragmentation in relation to COVID-19. Available literature on air quality and COVID-19 have provided insights into the potential of air pollutants acting as plausible virus carrier and aggravating immune responses and expression of ACE2 receptors. SARS-CoV-2 is detected in outdoor air, indoor air, solid waste, wastewater and shown to prevail on solid surfaces and aerosols for prolonged hours. Furthermore, lack of protection measures and safe disposal options in waste management are evoking concerns especially in underdeveloped countries due to high infectivity of SARS-CoV-2. Inadequate legal framework and non-adherence to environmental regulations were observed to aggravate the postulated risks and vulnerability to future waves of pandemics. Our understanding underlines the urgent need to reinforce the fragile status of global environmental management systems through the development of strict legislative frameworks and enforcement by providing institutional, financial and technical supports.

Potential SARS-CoV-2 contamination of groundwater as a result of mass burial: A mini-review

The recent COVID-19 disease has highlighted the need for further research around the risk to human health and the environment because of mass burial of COVID-19 victims. Despite SARS-CoV-2 being an enveloped virus, which is highly susceptible to environmental conditions (temperature, solar/UV exposure). This review provides insight into the potential of SARS-CoV-2 to contaminate groundwater through burial sites, the impact of various types of burial practices on SARS-CoV-2 survival, and current knowledge gaps that need to be addressed to ensure that humans and ecosystems are adequately protected from SARS-CoV-2. Data available shows temperature is still likely to be the driving factor when it comes to survival and infectivity of SARS-CoV-2. Research conducted at cemetery sites globally using various bacteriophages (MS2, PRD1, faecal coliforms) and viruses (TGEV, MHV) as surrogates for pathogenic enteric viruses to study the fate and transport of these viruses showed considerable contamination of groundwater, particularly where there is a shallow vadose zone and heterogeneous structures are known to exist with very low residence times. In addition, changes in solution chemistry (e.g., decrease in ionic strength or increase in pH) during rainfall events produces large pulses of released colloids that can result in attached viruses becoming remobilised, with implications for groundwater contamination. Viruses cannot spread unaided through the vadose zone. Since groundwater is too deep to be in contact with the interred body and migration rates are very slow, except where preferential flow paths are known to exist, the groundwater table will not be significantly impacted by contamination from SARS-CoV-2. When burial takes place using scientifically defensible methods the possibility of infection will be highly improbable. Furthermore, the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has helped us to prepare for other eventualities such as natural disasters where mass fatalities and subsequently burials may take place in a relatively short space of time.

Indirect effects of COVID-19 on the environment: How deep and how long?

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) announcement released in early March 2020 stated there is no proven evidence that the COVID-19 virus can survive in drinking water or sewage, there has been some recent evidence that coronaviruses can survive in low-temperature environments and in groundwater for more than a week. Some studies have also found SARS-CoV-2 genetic materials in raw municipal wastewater, which highlights a potential avenue for viral spread. A lack of information about the presence and spread of COVID-19 in the environment may lead to decisions based on local concerns and prevent the integration of the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 into the global water cycle. Several studies have optimistically assumed that coronavirus has not yet affected water ecosystems, but this assumption may increase the possibility of subsequent global water issues. More studies are needed to provide a comprehensive picture of COVID-19 occurrence and outbreak in aquatic environments and more specifically in water resources. As scientific efforts to report reliable news, conduct rapid and precise research on COVID-19, and advocate for scientists worldwide to overcome this crisis increase, more information is required to assess the extent of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the environment. The goals of this study are to estimate the extent of the environmental effects of the pandemic, as well as identify related knowledge gaps and avenues for future research.

Appraisal of COVID-19 lockdown and unlocking effects on the air quality of North India

The COVID-19 pandemic lockdown supposedly provided a 'window' of reinstatement to natural resources including the air quality, but the scenario after the phased unlocking is yet to be explored. Consequently, here we evaluated the status of air quality during the 8th phase of unlocking of COVID-19 lockdown (January 2021) at three locations of North India. The first site (S1) was located at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana-PPCB; the second site (S2) at Yamunapuram, Bulandshahr-UPPCB; and the third site (S3) at Okhla Phase-2, Delhi-DPCC. The levels of PM2.5 showed a significant increase of 525.2%, 281.2%, and 185.0% at sites S1, S2 and S3, respectively in the unlock 8 (January 2021), in comparison to its concentration in the lockdown phase. Coherently, the levels of PM10 also showed a prominent increase of 284.5%, 189.1%, and 103.9% at sites S3, S1, and S2, respectively during the unlock 8 as compared to its concentration in the lockdown phase. This rise in the concentration of PM2.5 and PM10 could be primarily attributed to the use of biomass fuel, industrial and vehicular emissions, stubble burning considering the agricultural activities at sites S1 and S2. Site S3 is a major industrial hub and has the highest population density among all three sites. Consequently, the maximum increase (295.7%) in the NO₂ levels during the unlock 8 was witnessed at site S3. The strong correlation between PM2.5, PM10, and CO, along with the PM2.5/PM10 ratio confirmed the similar origin of these pollutants at all the three sites. The improvements in the levels of air quality during the COVID-19 lockdown were major overtaken during the various phases of unlocking consequent to the initiation of anthropogenic processes.

Wastewater, waste, and water-based epidemiology (WWW-BE): A novel hypothesis and decision-support tool to unravel COVID-19 in low-income settings?

Traditional wastewater-based epidemiology (W-BE) relying on SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater is attractive for understanding COVID-19. Yet traditional W-BE based on centralized wastewaters excludes putative SARS-CoV-2 reservoirs such as: (i) wastewaters from shared on-site sanitation facilities, (ii) solid waste including faecal sludge from non-flushing on-site sanitation systems, and COVID-19 personal protective equipment (PPE), (iii) raw/untreated water, and (iv) drinking water supply systems in low-income countries (LICs). A novel hypothesis and decision-support tool based on Wastewater (on-site sanitation, municipal sewer systems), solid Waste, and raw/untreated and drinking Water-based epidemiology (WWW-BE) is proposed for understanding COVID-19 in LICs. The WWW-BE conceptual framework, including components and principles is presented. Evidence on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and its proxies in wastewaters, solid materials/waste (papers, metals, fabric, plastics), and raw/untreated surface water, groundwater and drinking water is discussed. Taken together, wastewaters from municipal sewer and on-site sanitation systems, solid waste such as faecal sludge and COVID-19 PPE, raw/untreated surface water and groundwater, and drinking water systems in LICs act as potential reservoirs that receive and harbour SARS-CoV-2, and then transmit it to humans. Hence, WWW-BE could serve a dual function in estimating the prevalence and potential transmission of COVID-19. Several applications of WWW-BE as a hypothesis and decision support tool in LICs are discussed. WWW-BE aggregates data from various infected persons in a spatial unit, hence, putatively requires less resources (analytical kits, personnel) than individual diagnostic testing, making it an ideal decision-support tool for LICs. The novelty, and a critique of WWW-BE versus traditional W-BE are presented. Potential challenges of WWW-BE include: (i) biohazards and biosafety risks, (ii) lack of expertise, analytical equipment, and accredited laboratories, and (iii) high uncertainties in estimates of COVID-19 cases. Future perspectives and research directions including key knowledge gaps and the application of novel and emerging technologies in WWW-BE are discussed.

Evaluation of biochemical characteristics of 183 COVID-19 patients: A retrospective study

Introduction and aim

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), with a high mortality rate, has caught the eyes of researchers worldwide and placed a heavy burden on the health care system. Accordingly, this study aimed to evaluate the values of biochemical parameters on the outcomes of COVID-19 patients in Golestan, Iran.

Materials and methods

This retrospective study was conducted on 183 COVID-19 patients (i.e., 94 males and 89 females) between March and September 2020. The biochemical parameters and demographic data of the patients (including age, sex, urea, creatinine [Cr], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], and creatine kinase [CK]) were obtained from electrical medical records. According to the outcome of COVID-19, the patients were categorized into two groups (i.e., death [n = 63] and survival [n = 120] groups), and the biochemical parameters and outcomes of COVID-19 were analyzed.

Results

Of the 183 patients, 120 (65.5%) had a non-severe type and recovered from COVID-19, and 63 (34.4%) developed into a critically severe type and died. The mean age of all patients was 56.5 years old. The highest mortality was observed in patients with LDH ≥280. The data obtained by the one-sample t-test showed that there were significantly higher mean values of urea, Cr, CK, and LDH in COVID-19 patients when compared to their reference intervals (P˂0.0001 for all).

Conclusions

Some biochemical parameters are effective in the evaluation of dynamic variations in COVID-19 patients. It can be concluded from the results that biochemical parameters and reinforce LDH may be useful for the evaluation of the COVID-19 outcome.