Every winter since the COVID-19 pandemic began, numbers have suffered respiratory diseases have increasedAnd This year is no different.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that COVID-19 trends in the United States have significantly increased in wastewater testing. Less than 5% of COVID-19 cases in the United States were linked to the JN1 variant in early November; The variant is now estimated to be the cause of 61% of cases.

Wastewater testing is intended as an early warning system for public health professionals, helping them prevent outbreaks.

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Wastewater monitoring in the US

Even in cases where residents of a community do not show symptoms, wastewater or sewage can be tested for the presence of infectious diseases. CDC data can detect possible changes in disease levels in your region.

People infected with SARS-CoV-2 They can excrete viral RNA (genetic material from the virus) in feces, and this RNA can be detected in community wastewater.

As of Jan. 6, the CDC’s weekly hospitalization data related to COVID-19 has increased to 35,801, fewer than hospitalizations during the same period last year. The figure is a decrease from 44,542 hospital admissions, 97,667 hospital admissions and 109,152 hospital admissions at the beginning of the year in 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Hospitalization rates in more than 40% of all U.S. counties are in the mid-range, meaning hospitals saw between 10.0 and 19.9 new COVID admissions last week — 19 per 100,000 patients.

COVID-19 wastewater monitoring by region

Different levels of COVID-19 have been detected in wastewater samples in different regions. The South and West have shown the largest increases in detected COVID-19 activity levels, while the Midwest and Northeast have seen a slight decrease. According to the CDC, the level of viral activity in wastewater for COVID-19 is “very high” in 35 states. (JO)