Israeli sewage study warns of Delta variant resurgence

A medical worker tests samples in order to detect the new coronavirus variant Omicron in a laboratory in Shamir Medical Center near Tel Aviv, Israel, on Dec. 1, 2021. (Gideon Markowicz/JINI via Xinhua)

JERUSALEM, May 3 (Xinhua) -- Israeli researchers on Tuesday warned of the likely resurgence of Delta to overtake Omicron to be the prevailing COVID-19 variant in the next two months.

Researchers found "this disturbing interaction between the Omicron and Delta variants" after monitoring sewage water in a southern Israel city for two months, Israel's Ben Gurion University (BGU), which led the study, said in a statement.

The researchers then used a lab model of wastewater detection and found that, contrary to their expectation, the Delta variant is circulating in a "cryptic" way even when the highly contagious Omicron is increasing.

People dine at a shopping mall in central Israeli city of Modiin, on April 24, 2022. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Based on a more developed model, they suggested that the Omicron levels will decrease until eliminated while Delta maintains its circulation, which leads to its resurgence.

The study also recommended using wastewater as a key indicator of where the coronavirus is active even when PCR and rapid testing of people shows a decline.

The research, supported by the Israeli Health Ministry, was published online last week in the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment. ■