Ada County wastewater tests show COVID-19 variants from UK, California in Boise
Samples of wastewater from Ada County show that the highly transmissible variants of the coronavirus have arrived in the Treasure Valley.
Wastewater samples from Boise, Eagle and Garden City reveal low levels of variants first detected in the United Kingdom and California, according to a news release from Boise-based Central District Health. The B.1.1.7 variant, first found in the UK, was detected in Boise’s wastewater. A California variant was found in Boise-area wastewater, the release said.
The City of Boise cannot precisely locate where COVID-19 samples originate. The city collects samples from its two water-renewal facilities — one near Veterans Memorial Park, and one in West Boise — as the wastewater comes into the facilities from the community as a whole, according to city spokesperson Seth Ogilvie.
Each variant accounted for 2% of the sequenced virus. The samples analyzed were collected on dates that saw higher COVID-19 case counts — Jan. 25 and Jan. 30 — which makes it easier for scientists to analyze samples.
How long have variants been in Idaho? We don’t know
Despite the wastewater testing revealing the variants, Idaho has yet to confirm the presence of the variants in people who test positive for the coronavirus. The state has been sending COVID-19 test samples to laboratories to conduct genomic sequencing, but several samples have not been capable of full sequencing.
“While we haven’t detected the ... variants in clinical samples yet, we have presumed the variants were circulating in Idaho,” said Dr. Christopher Ball, bureau chief for the Idaho Bureau of Laboratories, in the news release.
Only 239 of the samples from Idaho’s more than 136,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been sequenced so far to check for mutations, according to the news release.
“The Idaho Bureau of Laboratories is on track to sequence SARS-CoV-2 samples in-house by the end of the month, which will both speed up the time to results and expand the number of samples in our strain sequencing program. In the interim, we continue to work with clinical labs around the state to receive samples for sequencing.”
Evidence of B.1.1.7 “UK variant” underscores need for COVID-19 safety
Finding the variants in wastewater illustrates how Idaho’s battle with the coronavirus is far from over, and safety measures such as wearing masks, washing your hands and physical distancing remain important, according to the release.
“I’m grateful we have a wastewater testing program, and that it could tell us that these variants are indeed in Boise so that we are reminded, again, that we aren’t out of the woods yet,” said Boise Mayor Lauren McLean in the news release. “We’ll get through this, and our community will recover, if we remain vigilant in maintaining our distance, wearing masks, and following other health protocols.”
As of Wednesday, the CDC reports variant cases have been found in all of Idaho’s neighboring states except for Montana.
Public health experts believe the B.1.1.7 variant spreads more easily than versions of the coronavirus that were circulating in the U.S. most of last year. A recent CDC report predicted that the B.1.1.7 variant would dominate all others by next month.
Viruses mutate when they replicate themselves to infect humans or animals. When they mutate, usually in minor ways, they become a “variant.” Some of those mutations die out, because they actually make it harder for the virus spread or survive.
But some mutations help the virus spread more easily. That’s why public health officials have been closely watching the “variants of concern” — such as the B.1.1.7 — that appear to have emerged in the fall of last year.
Scientists are concerned that certain changes might allow the virus to infect people who would typically be immune — after recovering from a previous bout of COVID-19 or being vaccinated against the disease. Those changes could make antibodies less effective against the virus.
This story was originally published February 17, 2021 at 2:03 PM.
