The third all cluster meeting of the RF-APSI Consortium was held at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (TIFR-NCBS), Bengaluru on May 23rd and 24th, 2024. APSI researchers, staff and students from all participating institutions including NCBS, Tata Institute for Genetics and Society (TIGS), Centre for Cellular and Molecular Platforms (C-CAMP), Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Technology Park (ARTPARK), Bengaluru, Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad, Pasteur Institute, Shillong, CSIR- National Chemical Laboratory, Pune Knowledge Cluster, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune, Ashoka University, CSIR-Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB) and outreach partner-Chase-India, presented their ongoing work. Emphasis was laid on standardizing protocols to detect pathogens in wastewater and clinicals samples and transferring such protocols to public health agencies in India to carry out sustainable surveillance programs. Additionally, guidelines for wastewater-based epidemiology, sample site selection from various sources, indigenous high efficiency molecular biology kits for pathogen detection and monitoring pathogen traits of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) were discussed.
To ramp up the outreach efforts, city-wise outreach workshops, public health advocacy and community engagement programs were discussed.
In the upcoming months, the RF-APSI outreach focus will be to revamp the APSI dashboard and publish quarterly newsletters on the APSI website, develop protocols using wastewater-based epidemiology to detect pathogens contributing to AMR as well as respiratory viruses of public health concern. As part of outreach, various capacity building and training workshops for public health personnel, and key stakeholders will be held in various APSI clusters. By leveraging resource sharing at the national, state and local levels, the consortium is working towards public health advocacy for the incorporation of the APSI-developed deliverables into the public health surveillance programs for routine implementation and better disease preparedness.