New research suggests viral genome sequencing of wastewater can be used to identify new COVID-19 variants before they’re picked up via other screening methods.
Jan.19 (UPI) — New research suggests viral genome sequencing of wastewater can be used to identify new COVID-19 variants before they’re picked up via other screening methods. In Britain, scientists have been regularly sequencing the DNA of hundreds of COVID-19 samples on a weekly basis. Since Britain’s Covid-19 Genomics Consortium was formed in the early weeks of the pandemic, the project has traced the genetic history of more than 150,000 viral samples. Elsewhere in the world, genomic surveillance efforts remain limited. In the United States, for example, hospitals, county health departments and testing labs are already overwhelmed testing and treating patients, while also facilitating an unprecedented vaccination effort. However, the emergence of what scientists suspect to be more contagious variants of the COVID-19 virus have health officials looking for new ways to track the spread of important viral mutations.
