印度河-恒河-雅鲁藏布江流域(IGBRB)是流经南亚四个主要国家的跨界流域。,印度,巴基斯坦,孟加拉国,和尼泊尔。未处理或未充分处理的废水对地表水的污染一直是经济转型中的病原微生物的巨大问题。最近的研究报告说,污水监测可以提供疫情数据的先验信息,因为粪便中可能含有被感染的人类排出的新型冠状病毒(SARS-CoV-2)。因此,在这项研究中,我们对第一波和第二波大流行高峰期的COVID-19热点进行了地理空间绘制,以证明在正在进行的大流行期间IGBRB废水监测策略的必要性和有效性.我们进一步讨论了卫生状况,IGBRB中的健康和手卫生,以及大流行在实现联合国可持续发展目标(UN-SDGs)方面带来的挑战。IGBRB中COVID-19热点的每月地理信息系统(GIS)制图显示,沿直接污水排放点的传播增加。社会不平等暴露了城市贫民在负担方面的脆弱性,风险和获得水,环卫,卫生(WASH)需求。IGBRB社区中SARS-CoV-2病毒载量的这种基于证据的图像可以为应对该地区未来的COVID-19大流行浪潮提供有价值的见解和建议,这可以大大有助于实现联合国可持续发展目标。
The Indus-Ganga-Brahmaputra River Basin (IGBRB) is a trans-boundary river basin flowing through four major countries in South Asia viz., India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Contamination of surface water by untreated or inadequately treated wastewater has been a huge problem for pathogenic microorganisms in economies in transition. Recent studies have reported that sewage surveillance can provide prior information of the outbreak data, because faeces can contain the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) shed by infected humans. Hence, in this study we geo-spatially mapped the COVID-19 hotspots during the peak time in the first and second wave of pandemic to demonstrate the need and usefulness of wastewater surveillance strategy in IGBRB during ongoing pandemic. Further we discussed the status of sanitation, health and hand-hygiene in the IGBRB along with characterization of the challenges posed by the pandemic in achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN-SDGs). Monthly Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping of COVID-19 hotspots in the IGBRB showed an increase in the spread along the direct sewage discharge points. The social inequalities expose the vulnerabilities of the urban poor in terms of the burden, risks and access to Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) needs. Such an evidence-based image of the actual SARS-CoV-2 viral load in the community along the IGBRB can provide valuable insights and recommendations to deal with the future waves of COVID-19 pandemic in this region that can go a long way in achieving the UN-SDGs.