Open Access Library Journal
2021, Volume 8, e7505
ISSN Online: 2333-9721
ISSN Print: 2333-9705
DOI: 10.4236/oalib.1107505 Jun. 8, 2021 1 Open Access Library Journal
Searching if SARS-CoV-2 Subsists Following the
Disinfection of Potable Water
Djamel Ghernaout
1,2*
, Noureddine Elboughdiri
1,3
1
Chemical Engineering Department, College of Engineering, University of Ha’il, Ha’il, Saudi Arabia
2
Chemical Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, University of Blida, Blida, Algeria
3
Chemical Engineering Process Department, National School of Engineering, University of Gabes, Gabes,
Tunisia
Abstract
The manifestation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
CoV-2) in water and wastewater has newly been revealed. The stools and
masks of the patients diagnosed with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were
viewed as the key way of CoV diffusion into aquatic medium. Most CoV
kinds that attack human (likely for SARS-CoV-2) are frequently demobilized
quickly in water (the endurance of human CoV 229E in water being 7 days at
23˚C). Nevertheless, the endurance time of CoV in water strongly follows
temperature, characteristics of water, concentration of suspended solids and
organic matter, solution pH, and dose of disinfectant injected. The present
disinfection technique of potable water can efficiently demobilize most of the
bacterial and viral communities existing in water, particularly SARS-CoV-2
(more vulnerable to killing agent such as free chlorine). Scientists affirmed
that SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed in inflow wastewater and not found in
outflow one. Even if the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in water influents has
been affirmed, a fundamental interrogation is whether it could remain alive
or contaminate following the disinfection method of potable water. Until
now, only one study asserted that the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in water for
persons was null founded on the absence of cytopathic effect in infectivity
tests. Thus, more researches must be dedicated to the survival of SARS-CoV-2 in
water and wastewater below various working circumstances (temperature
and water matrix) and whether the diffusion from COVID-19-infected water
to human is an emerging anxiety.
Subject Areas
Chemical Engineering & Technology
How to cite this paper: Ghernaout, D. and
Elboughdiri, N. (2021) Searching if SARS-
CoV-2 Subsists Following the Disinfection
of Potable Water. Open Access Library
Journal, 8: e7505.
https://doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1107505
Received: May 8, 2021
Accepted: June 5, 2021
Published: June 8, 2021
Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Open
Access Library Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access