Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev are sounding the alarm when we thought we were out of the wilderness of Covid.
Omicron, which proved to be somewhat less lethal than previous Covid flavors, may burn itself in the next few months. Omicron and its sub-types (BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, BA.5 and possibly more on the way) are so contagious that the last big bad – Delta – was wiped out.
In a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Biotech Engineering Prof. Ariel Kushmaro and researcher Karin Yaniv argue absolutely no. Science of the Total Environment.
They say that Delta is waiting for the opportunity to come back after Omicron ends.
His worrying prediction comes from monitoring sewage from December 2021 to January 2022 in Beersheva, where BGU is located. Wastewater gives an indication of where the coronavirus is active, even though people are testing less.
Kushmaro’s team developed sensitive arrays that can distinguish between variations in sewage. Pro. A model created with Ronnie Greneck reveals the potential resilience of last year’s COVID killer.
“Of course, there are a lot of factors involved, but our model indicates that there may be another outbreak of Delta or another coronavirus outbreak this summer,” cautions Kushmaro, whose research is being conducted by the BGU Coronavirus Challenge and the Israeli Ministry of Health. was supported.
Fauci. praise from
A separate team at the university has been part of SAVE (“SARS CoV-2 Assessment of Viral Evolution”), an early detection group affiliated with the US National Institutes of Health.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to US President Joe Biden, congratulated BGU Prof. for his work on SEV. Tomar Hertz and his team.
Hertz recently co-authored a paper Nature To review the coordinated efforts of SAVE and its importance for assessing the impacts of COVID-19 variants. Hertz and his students are creating a “monthly ranking of SARS-CoV-2 variants based on predictions of antibody escape.” Hertz is also part of a working group analyzing T-cell mediated immune pressure on viruses.
Fauci wrote to Hertz that he “appreciates the important contributions you and your team make during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Your research has been incredibly important to the rapidly expanding pandemic response and has supported public health efforts around the world. I recognize that COVID-19 requires a strong work ethic and flexibility to develop the tools and data needed to enable a rapid response, and that you have made incredible progress despite many unprecedented obstacles. ,
The Save method serves as a template for a response against rapidly evolving pathogens and may be useful in combating future pandemics. Will this be enough to prevent the next post-Omicron version or the return of Delta?
