The CDC is turning to stool monitoring for future covid monitoring, and may identify mutations and forms before wastewater testing, the CDC says. Omicron Griffith may have vaccine strategy in FDA for children under five [updated] Criticizing federal response to state watchdog quad, puts HHS on 'high risk' list
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| The CDC is turning to stool monitoring for future covid monitoring |
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Friday that it is now recording levels of SARS-CoV-2 found in wastewater across the country. The announcement sparked a growing wastewater monitoring system, which the CDC said would eventually target other infectious diseases.
The system began in 2020 as a grassroots research effort but has grown into a network of more than 400 sewage sample sites nationwide, representing the sewers of approximately 53 million Americans. The CDC is now working with 37 states, four cities, and two regions to add more wastewater sampling sites. The health agency hopes to launch an additional 250 websites online in the coming weeks and more in the coming months
In a press briefing on Friday. Amy Kirby, head of the CDC program at the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS), described the sample as an important early warning for COVID-19 mutations and variants, as well as "a new frontier for infectious disease surveillance in the United States."
"It is estimated that between 40 and 80 percent of COVID-19 infected people discharge viral RNA from their feces [from SARS-CoV-2], which makes wastewater and sewerage an important opportunity to monitor the spread of the infection," Kirby said. . He added that this shedding begins almost immediately during an infection before someone starts showing symptoms and sometimes just a few days before a person gets a positive test result. Furthermore, those signals in the mud are not affected by test availability or healthcare access.
So far in the shadow of the epidemic, the search for wastewater in various places has eliminated the initial symptoms of fluctuations and increased abruptly, sometimes predicting a spike a few days before the events occur. In general, trends in RNA levels in wastewater are closely related to case rate, hospitalization rate, and test positivity, Kirby noted. Having these advanced precautions can help health officials prepare and prevent growth. For example, officials may be able to direct mobile tests to communities that see an initial increase in RNA levels or increase hospital resources in areas where cases are likely to increase.
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"These extra days can make a difference in the ultimate path to that growth in your community," Kirby said.
Guidance and planning
At the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's new NWSS data tracking site, people can see color-coded changes in RNA levels at various wastewater monitoring sites. For example, blue sites have dropped by 100% in the last 15 days, while red sites have increased by 1,000%.
Wastewater monitoring is often useful to see this kind of trend - whether the cases are going up or down. It does not explicitly indicate how much SARS-CoV-2 was present in the population at any given time and the researchers did not determine the threshold for detection. That is, it is not clear how many people in a particular sewage area need to be infected in order for a positive sewage sample to be displayed.
But it is clear that observations have proved effective in detecting sudden increases and impending variables. For example, in a survey by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published late last month, Kirby and colleagues reported that several sewage monitoring sites had detected an Omicron virus variant before Omicron cases were detected in individual states.
As SARS-CoV-2 moves from an acute epidemic stage to a quiet local one, Kirby and his colleagues hope that wastewater localization possibly seasonal will help to signal the emergence of new variables. But there are limits to sampling. First, you'll miss a solid part of the U.S. instead of a municipal sewer that uses a sewerage system প্রায় about 20 percent of those U.S. homes. Also, mutations in transient populations, such as tourist hotspots, may be more difficult to decipher.
However, sampling has proven effective enough for disease control and prevention centers to invest in more wastewater monitoring. In addition to further sampling sites, Kirby said the agency plans to increase surveillance this year to detect influenza, drug-resistant Candida fungi, and E. coli. Other pathogens, including foodborne illnesses such as E. coli and norovirus, can be included.
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Beth Mall
Health correspondent for Beth Ars Technica. He is interested in biomedical research, infectious diseases, health policy, and law and has a Ph.D. In microbiology.
Email beth.mole@arstechnica.com // Twitter @BethMarieMole
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