RIVM hopes to deal with this in various ways. A network of about 140 general practitioners who send weekly samples to see which diseases are circulating, not only via sewer measurements, but also via Nivel’s sentries. Hardly anyone comes in with complaints, though, so very few samples come in for testing.
Two weeks ago, the weekly yield in the Netherlands was 47 samples and only one of them was corona positive. Not much to follow closely the development of the corona virus in the Netherlands.
Hospitals find new variants
In the major cities, there is a group of researchers who, together with the GGD, have set up a system to quickly detect corona variants. With a special technique, the UMC in Amsterdam can analyze positive GGD tests with circulating variants within 24 hours.
Molecular microbiologist Marcel Jonges admits he still won’t give you a representative sample, as testers tend to be elderly and frail. “Fortunately, we are also testing our own healthcare staff, high-spirited young people. This way we can estimate how the virus is spreading.
Samples from De Jonges’ laboratory show that the BA2-omicron variant, which is common in the Netherlands, is currently responsible for only 69% of all infections in Amsterdam. The variant is increasingly being replaced by the BA4 and BA5 variants passing through South Africa. Last week 15%, this week 17%. According to Jonges, this is not a cause for concern, as the variants do not seem more intrusive than the original omicron variant.
Source: NOS
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