Following confirmation that the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 is present in Sacramento County wastewater specimens, Jamie White, an epidemiology program manager, said, wastewater is exactly where the virus is flourishing.
ABC 10 reported, Sacramento County's epidemiology program manager said in a Thursday pandemic briefing the coronavirus sheds in human waste, ending up in our sewage.
In a virtual briefing Thursday, the expert also said wastewater is a vital source of COVID-19 infection since people are shedding the said virus in their stool.
As reported, the original wastewater sample on November 28 was picked up by a team of researchers from Stanford led by Alexandria Boehm, a civil and environmental engineering professor.
Researchers testing wastewater for the virus that causes COVID-19.
Wastewater, a Strong Source of COVID-19
Last year, this professor of Stanford developed ways to monitor water in various areas throughout California for SARS-CoV-2, the disease that causes the COVID-19 infection.
The Stanford Wastewater Surveillance team started to collect samples at Sacramento wastewater treatment facilities in early December last year.
White explained, wastewater surveillance, specifically when combined with genetic sequencing from clinical samples, can be a precise method of determining and observing "changes in community trends in COVID-19 infections."
As of Thursday, no positive clinical cases of Omicron infection have been recorded and reported, although White said not all samples have been examined and tested yet.
County health officials said, too, the traveling and mass gatherings last Thanksgiving resulted in an uptick in positive COVID-19 cases, although the rate remains well below numbers seen a couple of months ago.
At present, Sacramento County is averaging 200 positive cases of COVID-19 every day and three deaths from the infection reported each day.
COVID-19 Spreading Through Feces
A Live Science report specified that tests conducted in the past have shown that the virus can be present in feces, although it was not clear if COVID-19 would be feasible enough to transmit to another person. Therefore, a group of researchers examined stool specimens from patients infected with the virus.
The researchers had the coronavirus isolated from one patient who suffered from severe pneumonia and examined the virus under an electron microscope. As a result, they found that the disease was viable.
According to China's Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this means that stool specimens may contaminate food, water, and hands, among others.
Specifically, those using the bathroom and then, do not wash their hands could spread the virus to others, for instance.
The China CDC also said the infection has many routes of transmission, which can partly explain its robust transmission and fast speed of transmission.
To prevent feces contamination, the health agency recommends frequent washing of hands, disinfecting surfaces, keeping personal hygiene, avoiding the eating of raw food, ensuring water is boiled before drinking it, and having hospital environments disinfected.
As of this writing, based on data from USA Facts, in Sacramento County, 110 new COVID-19 cases had been reported. Meanwhile, three deaths from the virus had also been recorded as of December 2021.
Report about wastewater as a strong source of COVID-19 is shown on ABC 10's YouTube video below:
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