More than half of states in the US have a ‘very high’ level of Covid-19 infection in their wastewater, as a new map shows.
Of the 27 states designated with ‘very high’ levels, Alabama was noted as having the highest, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Other states registering as ‘very high’ included California, Florida, Texas and Utah.
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In addition, a further 17 states are reporting ‘high’ levels.
If you can’t see the map below, click here.
This comes as there has been a surge in cases across the country this summer and as the CDC announced last week that Covid remains one of the top ten causes of death in the US.
The provisional figures for 2023 show that Covid was the 10th highest cause of death in the country, falling from 4th in 2022.
Data from the National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS) is used to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community, even if people in the area don’t have symptoms.
Wastewater from toilets can take up to 7 days to produce results, and the data can act as an early warning sign that the level of infection is increasing or decreasing.
Given that individuals with Covid-19 often take days before showing symptoms, this type of testing can prove useful in predicting spikes in infection.
The data showed that only 7 states were designated as have ‘moderate’ levels of Covid-19 infection; these were Arizona, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia, as well as Washington D.C.
The state of North Dakota along with territories of Guam, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands had no data.
