Scientists are using wastewater surveillance systems to determine if COVID-19 infection rates are increasing or decreasing in a community. At press time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention listed COVID activity in wastewater as “very high” — the highest measure by CDC metrics.
Some scientists are suggesting the spike in COVID levels detected in wastewater could signal the latest strain is targeting people’s guts rather than their respiratory systems.
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The newest COVID variant emerged in August and is said to be the fastest-growing variant in two years. While COVID levels in wastewater are elevated, so far, people are not being admitted to hospitals at rates observed in previous years.
“People are detecting it in wastewater at as high a rate as they were detecting Omicron when it first emerged,” a CDC research director said. “But so far, we’re not seeing a parallel increase in hospitalization. I think we have to watch that space.”
Some scientists have said the newest variant is “selectively targeting peoples’ intestinal tracts.” Previously, the majority of severe symptoms of COVID-19 were tracked in the upper respiratory system.
Some microbiology researchers have said infection trends have shifted away from lower lung infections since the Delta variant’s rise in 2021, continuing to do so in this newest variant.
While this development could explain why COVID deaths and hospitalizations are lower than previous years — even as infection rates in wastewater spike — researchers say the evidence is limited and other explanations could exist.
