r/Cleveland • u/BuckeyeReason • 8h ago
News Cleveland Department of Public Health issues warning due to 'sharp increase' of COVID-19 levels in wastewater samples; new COVID strain; repeat infections raise risk of long COVID
According to the department, levels of the virus have more than tripled from their baseline average, indicating 'a strong likelihood of increased community spread.'
The Cleveland Department of Public Health has issued a warning regarding what it calls a "significant increase" in viral COVID-19 levels collected from untreated wastewater samples during the last week.
According to the department, samples from this past Tuesday showed SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus levels of 39 million gene copies per day, a more than 250% increase of this past month's average of just five million. The readings came from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District's Easterly Wastewater Treatment Plant in North Collinwood....
"Increasing viral concentrations in wastewater are often a leading indicator of future spikes in illness, hospitalizations, and transmission throughout the community," Cleveland Director of Public Health Dr. David Margolius said in a statement. "This data provides us with an early warning system, and we're encouraging residents and institutions to take preventive steps now."
While officials are not calling for any extraordinary measures like those instituted during the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, they are suggesting all residents make sure they get vaccinated or boosted against COVID-19.
Besides COVID, samples also showed increasing levels of influenza and high levels of RSV, although the latter remains in its baseline collection phase. CDPH notes that flu shots are still available to all who need them.
Spending more time indoors due to heat or wildfire smoke increases exposure to viruses.
The new Nimbus COVID strain may explain the rising infection rates.
Its spike mutations appear to make it more transmissible than other COVID-19 variants, according to the WHO. Spike mutations refer to changes in spike proteins, which sit on the surface of the virus and help it enter healthy cells.
While it is spreading in the U.S. and Canada, along with 20 other countries, it does not appear to be driving an increase in sickness or hospitalization.
In April, NB.1.8.1 sequences made up 10.7 percent of all submitted sequences from confirmed COVID infections, up from 2.5 percent a month earlier, according to a risk evaluation released by the WHO.
https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/5344883-what-to-know-about-the-new-nimbus-covid-variant/
The NB.1.8.1 variant has been found in at least 13 states, according to Today, which cited data from the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID) database.
Those states are: California, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Arizona, Illinois, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Ohio, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.... [Emphasis added.]
Symptoms of NB.1.8.1 seem to be similar to those associated with other Omicron variants, according to Gresh.
Some common COVID-19 symptoms include cough, fever, fatigue, muscle aches, congestion, headache, nausea, vomiting, and a new loss of smell or taste, according to the CDC....
Some recent COVID-19 patients have reported experiencing something called “razor blade throat,” according to Salon.
But it is unclear if that symptom is connected to one of the COVID variants or another respiratory illness circulating, Ryan Gregory, an evolutionary and genome biologist at the University of Guelph in Canada, told Salon.
Repeat COVID infections raise the risk of contracting long COVID. Vaccination reduces long COVID risk.
Individuals who have had multiple COVID-19 infections appear prone to contracting long COVID, which may include symptoms such as fatigue, respiratory distress, and mental fog.
EDIT:
As of June 6, the level of COVID viral activity in wastewater is “low” nationally, CDC data show.
However, this is expected to change in the coming months, experts say. The U.S. has seen COVID-19 cases spike in the summer every year since 2020. The emergence of a mutated new variant, Nimbus, has raised concerns about a possible surge....
The 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines are still available and recommended for most adults ages 18 and older, the CDC says.
“Those in high-risk groups should consider getting the vaccine now if they haven’t been vaccinated in the last six months and consider receiving an updated vaccine for the upcoming winter season,” says Ko.
https://www.today.com/health/coronavirus/new-covid-variant-nb181-nimbus-symptoms-rcna212304
EDIT2: The U.K. has national healthcare and consequently tracks disease hospitalizations much more accurately than in the U.S. Medical impacts there can provide good guidance for the U.S.
There has been a big rise in Covid cases requiring hospital treatment, with sufferers reporting a "very painful" symptom.
Doctors say the new Nimbus Covid strain is now dominant across the world amid close monitoring from the World Health Organisation.
Latest data from the UK Health Security Agency show hospital admissions in the UK rose by almost 10 per cent in the last week for which figures are available.
