A report earlier this year suggested that drinking tap water is safe for Mumbaikars and is adherent to Indian standards. However, a report by a respected group of scientists has revealed a new “mega virus” in the city’s various water treatment facilities.
It is said that the virus is also seen to be spreading more rapidly than its counterparts, while they’ve also made the distinction that there’s currently not enough evidence to suggest that these pathogens may be linked to infections in humans.
The scientists have named the pathogens found in the water as per the region they belong to, namely “Bandra Megavirus” “Kurla Megavirus”, “Powai Lake Virus”, and “Mimivirus Bombay”. The team of scientists has also managed to find 20 other viruses across water treatment plants. The research can be found in its entirety in a report titled “Scientific Reports” which includes inputs from Anirvan Chatterjee, Thomas Sicheritz-Pontén, Rajesh Yadav & Kiran Kondabagil.
Kondabagil, along with a team of global researchers, was instrumental in discovering the Giant Virus (GV) at a cooling tower in England back in 1992. Since then, scientists have been on the lookout for any further appearances of the Giant Virus.
The fact that scientists are constantly on the alert against water-borne infections should bring some solace to Mumbaikars. For this research, scientists used unfiltered and untreated water from sewage, dairy unit water purification centers, and local households.
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