A rapid growth of the spread of Omicron variant of Covid-19 is observed in sewer water in cities in Latvia. The spread of Delta variant, on the other hand, is down, warns Latvian Biomedial Research and Study Centre’s representative Dita Gudrā.
According to her, the general trends for the spread of Covid-19 indicate that Omicron is already the dominant variant in Riga, Jurmala, Valmiera, Salaspils and Tukums, whereas Delta maintains a foothold in Jelgava, Jekabpils, Ventspils, Liepaja and Daugavpils.
Gudrā mentioned on Twitter that in Jurmala, Tukums and Valmiera the spread of Covid-19 is on a rise. The presence of Delta is gradually reducing and Omicron-type mutations are becoming more prevalent.
The last six measurements in Salaspils indicate stable spread of Covid-19. At the same time, the percentage of mutations typical for Omicron is up 60%.
In Riga’s sewer water Omicron is the dominant type. Delta is on decline. At the same time, Gudrā admits that quantitative data indicates that the spread of the infection seems to be declining, but this may be misleading.
«With Omicron becoming more prevalent, the presence of the virus detected in sewer water is becoming lower. Considering that infection with Omicron variant is considered lighter than Delta, this means less of the virus ends up in sewer systems,» explains Gudrā.
In Jelgava Delta remains the dominant variant. However, there are still trace mutations of Omicron found as well. In Jekabpils experts report an uptake with Covid-19 infections. Delta is the dominant variant in sewer water, but Omicron is on a rise as well.
The situation with the spread of Covid-19 is more stable in Liepaja, Ventspils and Daugavpils.
The latest SARS-CoV-2 quantitative measurements were performed for samples collected on 18 January. The latest sequencing results are available for samples collected on 11 January. Preparation of samples for sequencing and the sequencing process itself takes approximately one and a half weeks. This is why there is gap of time, Gudrā explains.
Riga Technical University researcher Sandis Dejus previously said that it is not possible to get Covid-19 from sewer water. Sewer water is used to detect Covid-19 particles, which is useful for detecting the presence of the virus in an area and people living there. He adds there have been cases when people refused working at sewer water treatment plants out of fear of getting infected.
As reported by LLC Valmieras Ūdens, sewer water monitoring helps determine the concentration of Covid-19 in sewer water and predict possible outbreaks. This method is used in many countries to determine the spread of the virus in populated areas and to reveal possible mutations.
According to recommendations from the European Commission, Latvia adopted the system in order to monitor the particles of SARS-CoV-2 virus.
BIOR, Riga Technical University, Water Research and Environmental Biotechnology Laboratory and Latvian Biomedial Research and Study Centre are involved in research efforts.
Increased Omicron spread observed in sewer water of Latvian cities
