Researchers Find COVID Mutations in NYC Sewage, Pointing to Possible Dog, Rat Infections

[We Never Know]

Covid varients in waste/sewage water!
What is next?

"After months of testing and re-testing, they found four combinations of COVID mutations that, when compared to a global database of more than 2.5 million sequenced variants, had not been seen before. The four variants are at least somewhat antibody-resistant, which could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, the researchers found.

The team of virologists and microbiologists from CUNY’s Queens and Queensborough colleges, the New School and the University of Missouri have been studying sewage from the city’s 14 wastewater treatment plants since June 2020, collecting samples in plastic bottles once a week and analyzing them to see concentrations of the virus. Since January, the researchers have gone a step further, analyzing the sewage for different COVID-19 variants."

https://www-nbcnewyork-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/researchers-find-covid-mutations-in-nyc-sewage-pointing-to-possible-dog-rat-infections/3185871/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&amp&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw==#aoh=16282980131988&referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s&ampshare=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/researchers-find-covid-mutations-in-nyc-sewage-pointing-to-possible-dog-rat-infections/3185871/

 

[Twilight Hue]

Viruses are everywhere. It's not surprising actually. Just hope this is not going to be yet another alarmist venue to exploit.

I would think a virus would not survive the sewage treatment process anyways.

 

[We Never Know]

Viruses are everywhere. It's not surprising actually. Just hope this is not going to be yet another alarmist venue to exploit.

I would think a virus would not survive the sewage treatment process anyways.

I agree its shouldn't survive the treatment.
Its just crazy it can survive there.

 

[Revoltingest]

Dang...& I couldn't get out of visiting daughter in NYC this month.

 

[Stevicus]

Covid varients in waste/sewage water!
What is next?

"After months of testing and re-testing, they found four combinations of COVID mutations that, when compared to a global database of more than 2.5 million sequenced variants, had not been seen before. The four variants are at least somewhat antibody-resistant, which could reduce the effectiveness of vaccines, the researchers found.

The team of virologists and microbiologists from CUNY’s Queens and Queensborough colleges, the New School and the University of Missouri have been studying sewage from the city’s 14 wastewater treatment plants since June 2020, collecting samples in plastic bottles once a week and analyzing them to see concentrations of the virus. Since January, the researchers have gone a step further, analyzing the sewage for different COVID-19 variants."

https://www-nbcnewyork-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/researchers-find-covid-mutations-in-nyc-sewage-pointing-to-possible-dog-rat-infections/3185871/?amp_js_v=a6&amp_gsa=1&amp&usqp=mq331AQKKAFQArABIIACAw==#aoh=16282980131988&referrer=https://www.google.com&amp_tf=From %1$s&ampshare=https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/researchers-find-covid-mutations-in-nyc-sewage-pointing-to-possible-dog-rat-infections/3185871/

Sounds like we're all going down the drain.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

We've been testing sewage for most of the pandemic period.
This has been useful where our case counts gets down to zero, allowing us to identify if there is actually still Covid in the community despite no positive tests.

It also lets you identify new strains being present.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

Viruses are everywhere. It's not surprising actually. Just hope this is not going to be yet another alarmist venue to exploit.

I would think a virus would not survive the sewage treatment process anyways.

Why does that matter? I shouldn't think the reason for their testing is to find and kill viruses...it's a less invasive way that they can get a snapshot of what viruses are present in the community without requiring any effort or privacy breaches on behalf of citizens.

What's the downside risk?

 

[Twilight Hue]

Why does that matter? I shouldn't think the reason for their testing is to find and kill viruses...it's a less invasive way that they can get a snapshot of what viruses are present in the community without requiring any effort or privacy breaches on behalf of citizens.

What's the downside risk?

No downside unless political BS gets involved.

Keep the science untainted and its a win.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

No downside unless political BS gets involved.

Keep the science untainted and its a win.

Agreed.

 

[Deeje]

Why does that matter? I shouldn't think the reason for their testing is to find and kill viruses...it's a less invasive way that they can get a snapshot of what viruses are present in the community without requiring any effort or privacy breaches on behalf of citizens.

What's the downside risk?

You know what I don't understand? If the Delta strain that is taking off in Australia at present can be spread by walking past someone at a distance, or breathing the same air in a hotel corridor, why do we need invasive testing to see if we have the virus? Isn't that the reason why we are told to wear masks?
A saliva sample should be enough surely? Is the torture really necessary? I'd rather have a blood test.

I've had the swabs (feels like brain surgery without anesthetic) and its the most painful and uncomfortable thing I have ever had done......I am not keen to do it again.

The other thing I find hard to imagine is that they can find small fragments of the virus in millions of liters of sewage water.....how is that even possible?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Dang...& I couldn't get out of visiting daughter in NYC this month.

Are you allowed to go up (or down) their now?

 

[exchemist]

Viruses are everywhere. It's not surprising actually. Just hope this is not going to be yet another alarmist venue to exploit.

I would think a virus would not survive the sewage treatment process anyways.

That is not the point. The point is that, if there are new variants in the sewers which are not (yet) in the human population, it means there must be some kind of animal reservoir of infection, whose byproducts are getting into the sewers, e.g. from rats that live in the sewers, or via rainwater runoff from streets with dog faeces in them.

Nobody is worried about waste water after treatment being a source of infection. The concern would be an animal reservoir, from which new variants might eventually manage to pass back into the human population. After all, the virus - and SARS-1 and MERS, for that matter - are thought to have come originally from other mammals: bats.

There is nothing here about alarmism or "exploitation", whatever you mean by that. It is just prudent science to look around, with a new disease, to see what else it might do, so we don't get taken unawares, again. Testing sewage is actually a very sensible thing to do, to monitor what variants are circulating in the population, because we know that infected people excrete the virus. The French were onto this about a year ago and now others are following suit.