Signs of stabilization of the viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in the municipal waste of Thessaloniki are observed in the latest measurements for the research conducted by the Sewage Epidemiology Team of AUTh with EYATH, in collaboration with the Region of Central Macedonia and within the National Network of EODY .
However, as shown in the diagrams presented by APE-MPE, in the last four measurements fluctuations are recorded around a very high level of viral load and for this reason the AUTh team considers as premature any assessment for the consolidation of the stabilization trend, while noting as an important fact that the Delta strain, which leads to the most serious diseases that need treatment, is still present in the community and is located in the sewage and the de-escalation in its measurement is relatively slow despite the dominance of the Omicron strain.
Specifically, in the samples taken daily at the entrance of the Thessaloniki Wastewater Treatment Plant, regarding the rationalized values of relative viral load secretion, the average value of the two most recent measurements, ie Monday 10/01/2022 and Tuesday 11/01/2022 is:
-Fixed (-6%) in relation to the average value of the two immediately preceding measurements of Saturday 08/01/2022 and Sunday 09/01/2022.
Marginally stable (+ 20%) in relation to the average price of the previous Monday 03/01/2022 and Tuesday 04/01/2022.
“We have experienced the phenomenon of fluctuations and temporary stabilization in all the waves of the pandemic. At this time, however, with the very large spread of the virus in the community and the transmission of the Omicron strain, any assessment as to whether we have seen the peak of the wave is uncertain. It is definitely not something that can be seen from 3-4 day measurements, as the situation is dynamic and its development depends on the observance by the citizens of the measures of self-protection from their exposure to the virus “, said his rector to APE-MPE Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and scientifically responsible for the research project, Professor Nikos Papaioannou.
Regarding the evolution of the viral load of Omicron and Delta strains of SARS-CoV-2, the associate professor of Molecular Microbiology of the Department of Veterinary Medicine AUTh Chrysostomos Dovas explained: “Over time and based on the data we have since significant events of dispersal in the community and subsequent increase of the load in the sewage of Thessaloniki, we estimate that for the strain Omikron the analyzes of the sewage indicate the size of its dispersion in the community 4-5 days in the past. The recordings we have from 8/1 onwards show a stabilization of the viral load in the community at high levels, with the Delta declining slowly. Based on the measurement on 11/1, the Delta’s viral load in the city has been reduced by half compared to 19/12 when Omicron was first detected “.
The coronavirus assessment methodology in municipal waste, developed by the AUTh team, streamlines the measurements of the virus genome concentration based on 24 environmental factors, which may alter the results of the measurements. The molecular method of real-time PCR, developed by the AUTh Team, has the ability to selectively amplify the part of the genome that encodes the spike protein of the Omicron strain.
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