Wastewater has become a useful way to monitor surges in specific areas, down to the variant
, director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation at the University of California, San Diego, and his team, along with scientists at Scripps Research, developed a system for picking out the genetic signatures of variants and determining the relative proportion of those variant strains in the wastewater samples they test. Identifying variants has been a challenge with wastewater samples, which contain not only SARS-CoV-2 but also myriad other bacteria, viruses, and pathogens.
To improve their chances of accurately identifying SARS-CoV-2 variants, the scientists focused on nearly 20,000 samples collected daily on the UC San Diego campus from 131 sites covering 360 buildings. They genetically sequenced a subset of SARS-CoV-2 virus they found in the positive samples and compared these sequences to those from positive COVID-19 tests from clinics on campus.
Those analyses allowed the researchers to determine, with just a few spoonfuls of wastewater, when COVID-19 infections among the 10,000 students living on campus and the 25,000 people spending time at the school trended upward—up to 14 days before testing on campus documented them. Because the team knew where the positive samples were collected, they could also pinpoint, down to the building, where infections were spreading.
With their new system for detecting variants, the researchers also found that they could pick up a wider variety of SARS-CoV-2 strains in the wastewater than sequencing of positive PCR tests from the campus clinics, providing a more accurate picture of the diversity of strains circulating in a community such as a college campus.
To track Omicron, which began spreading in the U.S. in late 2021, the team also collected data through February 2022, and documented the quick replacement of Delta by Omicron in their samples. Working with samples from the Point Loma wastewater treatment plant, near the UC San Diego campus, they were also able to detect Omicron on November 27; the first clinical identification of Omicron from tests on the school’s campus didn’t come until 10 days later, on December 8.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Dallas County raises COVID-19 risk level back to yellowWith the number of new COVID-19 cases in North Texas increasing, Dallas County has raised its COVID-19 risk level to yellow.
Read more »
New vaccine could protect against COVID-19 variants before they emergeThe vaccine works by using spike proteins from SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — and seven other related animal viruses with the potential to cause a pandemic in humans. FOX13
Read more »
COVID-19 positivity rate in San Antonio is the highest since omicron surgeThe COVID-19 positivity rate in San Antonio is the highest it has been since the Omicron variant-fueled surge at the beginning of the year.
Read more »
Doctors warning North Texans about recent rise in COVID-19 casesA close cousin of the omicron variant is driving increased spread of COVID-19 in North Texas.
Read more »
Colorado’s COVID hospitalizations are on a plateau, and it’s not clear where they’ll go nextCOVID-19 infections remain essentially on a plateau in Colorado, and what they do next will depend on how many people are still susceptible to the latest variants.
Read more »
University Health opening appointments for children under 5 years old to get COVID vaccineParents will soon be able to schedule their children to get a COVID-19 vaccine from University Health as COVID-19 positivity rates swell in San Antonio.
Read more »