NELSON MANDELA BAY | ALARM RAISED OVER UPSURGE OF SARS-CoV-2 VIRUS IN METRO WASTEWATER

The South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) has raised the alarm over the upsurge of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater in the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality.  

The SARS-CoV-2 virus causes Covid-19. 

The SAMRC Wastewater Surveillance and Research Programme (WSARP) undertakes weekly wastewater sampling and analysis at approximately 80 sites across the country.

News24 previously reported that traces of the virus found at wastewater plants could not be transmitted to humans as it was not live, but rather microscopic genetic material.

President and CEO of the SAMRC, Professor Glenda Gray, said after months of low concentrations of SARS-CoV-2, they were starting to see an upsurge in Cape Town and the Nelson Mandela Bay municipalities.   

Professor Angela Mathee, a member of the team said their analyses also point to a sharp rise in SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in wastewater samples collected from sentinel towns in the Western Cape's Breede Valley area, as well as an increase in concentrations at Cape Town International Airport. 

"The wastewater analyses are not indicating similar increases in SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations elsewhere in the country at this stage," she said.

Gray said while this was not enough evidence on when the fifth Covid-19 wave would start, it was a good time for people to be on guard. 

"Now is a very good time for everyone in our country to strengthen their Covid-19 transmission prevention practices, including getting vaccinated (and for those who are eligible, to take booster shots), wearing masks in closed spaces, ensuring that indoor spaces are well ventilated, practising hand hygiene and using sanitiser.

"Our genomics and sequencing teams are currently undertaking the tests to determine whether or not we are dealing with a new variant, and we will release those results as soon as they are available," she said. 

Harry Moultrie, a senior medical epidemiologist for geospatial modelling at the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), told News24 that predicting when a new wave would emerge was complex. 

"The timing of SARS-CoV-2 resurgences is determined by the complex interplay of behaviour, immunity and new variants. We are unable to predict the timing of new variants and thus resurgences. We continue to carefully scrutinise data for early signals of a resurgence."

NEWS24