A mysterious corona sequencing has been appearing in sewage analyzes in New York City for some time. Her origin has been unknown for months.
New York – Almost since the beginning of the corona pandemic, researchers have also been looking for clues in wastewater as to how the corona virus is spreading and developing. What has been helpful in many cases can, however, also be a puzzle in others. Scientists from the USA have now published a study from New York in the journal Nature Communications, which initially raises more questions than it answers.
As part of the routine controls, which document the development of the corona virus in the metropolis and can provide indications of possible new virus variants, a mysterious virus sequencing was found in New York’s wastewater at the beginning of 2021. According to the summary of the study, this includes a combination of virus mutations, which even individually in samples from patients have only been found in the rarest of cases.
Unknown corona mutations discovered in New York: origin remains a mystery
There was no evidence that the virus mutations, which have been regularly detected in New York’s wastewater for about a year, have an impact on the infection rate in the city. In the samples of patients who tested positive for corona, the usual sequencing of the delta and omicron variants dominated during the investigation period. The scientists confirmed that the mysterious finds probably pose no danger to humans. However, no one knows where they come from.
As a possible explanation for the findings, the researchers considered the possibility that it could be a corona variant that occurs in humans but has never been noticed by a positive test. However, with more than two million infections detected in the city since the beginning of the pandemic, many researchers consider this unlikely.
Researchers are investigating traces of corona in wastewater: Possible traces lead to animals
Another explanation is that it is a variant that could only occur in animals, such as the city’s rat population. However, skunks or squirrels would also be possible hosts for such a virus form. As scientists have now found out in several studies, the virus can infect numerous species.
The research team includes experts in virology and microbiology from New York and other US states. Together they have been evaluating samples from 14 New York sewage treatment plants since June 2020. Since January 2021, the focus of sequencing the samples has been on the spike protein of the coronavirus. (ska)
