...
By Jess Thomson
Science Reporter
0
Share
Newsweek is a Trust Project member
See more of our trusted coverage when you search.Prefer Newsweek on Googleto see more of our trusted coverage when you search.
The levels of COVID-19 present in wastewater around the country is on the rise, new data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reveals.
20 U.S. states (plus D.C.) had "very high" levels of SARS-CoV-2—the virus that causes COVID-19—present in wastewater for the week between December 29, 2024 and January 04, 2025.
This is a jump up from the week before, when 16 states had "very high" levels of the virus.
Read More
NASA Tracks Smoke From Palisades and Eaton Fires3 min read
How To Protect Yourself From California Wildfires and Ash Impacts3 min read
Arctic Sea Ice Decline Triggering Worsening Fires in Western US3 min read
"Wastewater (sewage) can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if people don't have symptoms," the CDC explains.
According to the CDC data, Arizona, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin and Wyoming—as well as D.C.—all had "very high" levels of the virus in their wastewater for this period.
The week before last, between December 15 and December 21, 14 states had "very high" levels present, and before that, between December 8 and December 14, only five states had "very high" levels of the virus.
Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, New Jersey, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia all had "high" levels of wastewater COVID-19, while Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma and Washington had "moderate" levels.
California, Hawaii, Oregon and Texas had "low" levels, and Alaska, Nevada and New York all had "minimal" levels.
Kentucky, Missouri and North Dakota have no data available for this period.
Additionally, North Carolina, South Dakota, Mississippi and Virginia have "limited coverage" for this week's data, which according to the CDC, means that their viral activity level is "based on a small part (less than 5 percent) of the population and may not represent viral activity levels for the entire state or territory."
Wastewater samples are collected from treatment plants or other community sources, and are tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA, offering a snapshot of virus levels in the population.
This wastewater surveillance provides early warning of COVID-19 trends in a community, as individuals can shed the virus in their feces even if they are asymptomatic or untested.
Therefore, this can help the CDC monitor entire communities regardless of access to healthcare or testing and detect changes in COVID-19 prevalence, potentially predicting surges.
CDC testing data for the same period reveals that 6.9 percent of COVID-19 tests came back positive, with the highest test positivity rates across Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
"Many respiratory virus illnesses peak during the winter due to environmental conditions and human behaviors," a CDC spokesperson previously told Newsweek.
"COVID-19 has peaks in the winter and at other times of the year, including the summer, driven by new variants and decreasing immunity from previous infections and vaccinations."
Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about comets? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.
View 0 Comments
Submit Correction
View Editorial & AI Guidelines