deep " sibylline lineages " of SARS - CoV-2 have been feel in the wastewater beneath New York City ( NYC ) , according to a raw study . These linage of the virus that causes COVID-19 have never been documented in humans , leave the researchers to wonder how they care to jump up , not least in the sewers of NYC .
As reported in the journalNature Communications , scientist study wastewater samples from NYC and detected an increased figure of “ novel qabalistic ” SARS - CoV-2 lineages that had not been reported in humans . The study observe that the newly discovered descent contain mutations that had been rarely observe in other clinical sample distribution .
" The mutations that we were observe in our sample were n’t typical among any of the known succession circulating at that time , " John Dennehy , bailiwick author and professor of biology at Queens College , City University of New York , said in astatement .
Between 40 and 80 percent of multitude infect with COVID-19 throw viral RNA in their the skinny , so monitoring sewage can be a useful tool for understanding the outbreak at a population - broad scale . postulate advantage of this fact , the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) launched theNational Wastewater Surveillance Systemin September 2020 , a program to search sewer water and sewage for the genetical fabric of viruses with the aim of gaining knowledge about the COVID-19 irruption . There are currently 400 examination sites spread across the US , with the CDC working with 37 states , four cities , and two territories to promote their wastewater surveillance scheme .
The researchers think there are two main options . Firstly , they could be derive from unsampled human COVID-19 contagion . Since these sample essentially came from human ninny , perhaps virus of these lineages preponderantly replicate in the cell of the gut and are n’t break up up by the stock nose - and - throat swab techniques .
Secondly , other animal may be acting as a obscure reservoir for the virus . It ’s known that SARS - CoV-2 can taint a number of mammals , includingcats , dogs , tigers , mink , anddeer , to name just a few . Although it ’s yet to be proven , it ’s potential that the virus could be infecting animals lurking in the gutter , like mice and rats ( not alligator ) , and mutating into these unexampled sibylline lineages .
Alternatively , another part of research released this week offer another account . The study , published inACS ES&T Water , found that sewer muck can accumulate on the genetic material of SARS - CoV-2 , potentially damage the truth of wastewater COVID-19 tests . This could suggest the detection of the mysterious blood line is just an error .
For now , it remains a turn of a mystery . At a recentmedia group discussion , the CDC articulate it ’s in contact with the researcher that published the NYC sewerage theme and is watching this avenue of enquiry very tight .
