Tracking microbes through a foul-smelling network of sewers led virologist Marc Johnson to the source of unusual coronavirus mutants.

After months of sampling sewage, the microbiologist from the University of Missouri School of Medicine found out exactly where the mutants came from: from a regular user of the toilets at a certain Wisconsin company. Although Johnson could not identify this individual, he was able to use genetic data to see that virus particles were freshly made and expelled for more than a year – many times longer than a typical two-week COVID-19 infection.

And during that time, the mutations showed the virus was “running like hell,” trying to evade the person’s immune system, Johnson said. Laboratory analysis of his sewage samples revealed the battlefield in the patient’s body where the virus was rapidly evolving to claim a stronghold.

“You can find a lot of chronic infections — people who have probably been infected for over a year — where the virus hasn’t changed at all,” he said. “And I don’t understand why it just goes crazy in some patients.”

As the scourge of COVID-19 enters its fourth year, patients like the one Johnson discovered when traced down miles of drainpipes and drains are bringing researchers closer to answers to key questions: Where do worrying new mutants come from? And what role do they play in Long COVID, the mysterious post-infection disease that is affecting more than 140 million people worldwide?

Scientists are studying the possibility that some of the most contagious versions of the coronavirus — Omicron and its descendants — came from chronically infected individuals whose immune systems were weakened by disease, drugs, or both. Research published in December shows the virus can persist in the body and brain for months. That suggests it may be hiding in human cells and tissues, similar to HIV and the chickenpox virus that causes shingles.

Exciting autopsies

Traces in the blood and stool of patients with long-lasting symptoms indicate that SARS-CoV-2 could be stored in the intestines, fat or other tissues that offer protection against the body’s immune system. Researchers from the US National Institutes of Health, who performed painstaking autopsies on the bodies of 44 COVID-19 victims, found viral genetic material in the bodies and brains of the patients up to 7 1/2 months after symptoms began. In one case, virus particles isolated from the brain were grown in a laboratory dish, proving that they were fully functional and capable of replication.

“The predominant damage still seems to be in the lungs,” said Daniel Chertow, who led the research in the NIH’s Emerging Pathogens Division, “but, oh boy, we really need to better understand what kind of damage is in all of these.” other places are prepared.”

Most of those autopsied were elderly and ill before contracting COVID-19, and all died before vaccines became available. And while no one was known to have had COVID for long, the findings, published in the journal Nature, still call for follow-up.

“It is imperative that we try to understand in great detail what role persistence of viral RNA and other viral components might play in long COVID,” Chertow said.

No one knows if the coronavirus or its remnants are still present in everyone who has had COVID-19, or if it’s just a group of patients, said Timothy Henrich, an associate professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco .

“We all hypothesize that it’s a driver for long COVID, but we really haven’t shown that definitively,” Henrich said. “This is still something that needs to be done.”

Still, Chertow’s research has already inspired the experimental use of antiviral drugs like Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid to see if it can eradicate viral reservoirs and relieve long-term symptoms. According to Amy Proal, co-founder of the PolyBio Research Foundation, a Boston-based nonprofit dedicated to research into chronic, infection-associated conditions.

It’s “the most logical explanation because it pretty much explains everything else,” she said.

Scan hideouts

Henrich, who has helped develop sophisticated imaging techniques that can pinpoint HIV in tissues, plans to use the same approach to find COVID-19’s hiding spots. Dozens of patients will undergo a series of full-body scans looking for signals of viral protein production or persistence. These will be compared to symptoms to see how the continued presence of the coronavirus correlates to a long COVID.

The group has started scanning patients to look for protective T cells that could indicate an aberrant immune response to SARS-CoV-2. They examine biopsies of the participants’ digestive tracts for traces of the virus, Henrich said.

A particular focus is on lymphoid tissues, which produce, store and transport T cells that fight infection, and antibody-producing B cells. The coronavirus could also be hiding in long-lived nerve cells and heart muscles, where it can cause chest pain, brain fog, fatigue and other long-lasting COVID symptoms, said Diane Griffin, a virologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, who has been studying for more than 50 years studying the body’s response to viral infections.

“We have pretty good information from acute RNA virus infections that RNA persists and that it has consequences,” said Griffin, who is vice president of the US National Academy of Sciences. “Basically, it’s difficult to get rid of viruses.”

Proving that prolonged viral infection causes long-term COVID will be difficult, Griffin said. Viruses in stealth mode suppress replication so as not to damage their host cells. Despite the extensive distribution of coronavirus RNA in the patients’ bodies, Chertow’s team saw little evidence of inflammation or that the immune system had attempted to destroy infected cells outside of the airways.

Viral Evolution

Interestingly, when the NIH scientists analyzed the genetic makeup of virus samples collected from six patients, they found versions in the lungs that differed from those collected in other tissues. In one patient, the viruses found in two brain regions – the thalamus and the hypothalamus – were significantly different, suggesting that certain mutations favored the persistence of the pathogen there.

“We know that these RNA viruses have the potential to evolve within a host,” Chertow said. “The more they can replicate and the longer they have time to do so and the higher the level of replication that takes place, the more opportunities these viruses have to evolve.”

This raises an interesting possibility: as the virus evolves to inhabit different organs and tissues, the process can produce more and more infectious and immune-evasive variants. Nobody knows yet whether this is the case, but Johnson’s wastewater analysis at the University of Missouri gives the first indications.

Out of control pathogens

Since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers have known that the disease can infect the digestive tract, causing stomach upset and causing patients to shed trace amounts of the virus in their feces. Johnson routinely scans around 100 sewer networks in the Midwest for unusual SARS-CoV-2 strains, called cryptic lineages because their source is unknown.

“They are rare, but they exist,” he says.

When Johnson started work in March 2021, he had no idea where the journey was going. Then, after more than a year ago, omicron drove US COVID-19 cases to a record high, he began actively looking for strains with pronounced genetic changes.

He discovered one that came from a drain in Wisconsin that served 100,000 people. Its genetic signature was much more different than previous versions of Omicron, but it had not been reported in any patient. Importantly, its mutations appeared in newer versions of omicron. It was almost as if Johnson saw where the virus was going — evolutionarily speaking — before it arrived.

“So we started saying, let’s find out where it’s coming from,” he said.

Black Swan

For four months he and his colleagues went from one shaft to the next in an unknown metropolitan area. Then they discovered that the samples came from a building. Then one side of the building. Then half a dozen toilets, regularly used by about 30 people.

There, the investigation had come to a standstill, said Johnson. Despite this, he was able to deduce that the cryptic lineage came from an individual who was infected nearly two years ago, as it evolved from a strain last discovered in Wisconsin in April 2021.

In August, the concentration of the variant was 1.5 billion copies per liter of wastewater. For comparison, at the height of a massive COVID-19 outbreak in a Missouri prison, a liter of sewage contained just 100 million copies of the coronavirus.

“It’s insane how much virus this person is shedding,” Johnson said.

In December, the same variant appeared in the toilet installation in Wisconsin for the 13th consecutive month.

“Whoever this person is, they still seem to be going to work every day and have been for a while,” Johnson said. “It seems they don’t know they are infected. It can’t be good for her.”

The line hasn’t appeared anywhere else, suggesting it’s not spreading, Johnson said. But there’s no question that it can grow, as evidenced by long-standing high concentrations in toilet drains.

“The question is why?” he said. “We assume something like this happened at omicron and that there was some sort of black swan event that allowed the virus to get out.”

Johnson says studying cryptic lineages has challenged his thinking about the coronavirus’ ability to lodge itself in human tissues, particularly outside the respiratory system, and its potential to cause prolonged illness.

“I’m particularly open now to the idea that there are secondary infections that we just don’t know about,” he said. “And maybe that helps explain some of these very oddly long COVID symptoms.”

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Nemesio Isorena’s smile is what his family says they will always remember most about him.

The man died a day before his 63rd birthday on Halloween night after he was hit by a SamTrans bus in South San Francisco.

“We were actually going to celebrate his birthday,” his niece Alyssa Isorena said. “Like he was getting ready for that. Maybe he was going to buy something at Trader Joe’s for his birthday.”

Nemesio was not married and had no children, but was loved by his siblings, nephews and nieces. He also recently became a naturalized United States citizen – a proud American. The family has opened up a GoFundMe account to help pay for funeral services.

Family members also are waiting for more answers to answers on what happened the night of his death.

“We really don’t know what happened to him,” Alyssa said. “We’re still looking for answers.”

The San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office deferred NBC Bay Area to SamTrans when seeking comment on Nemesio’s death.

SamTrans issued the following statement Friday:

“We are sending our deepest sympathies and most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Mr. Isorena, who was fatally injured in an incident involving a SamTrans bus on October 31. We have reached out to the family to see how we can assist them “During this very difficult time. The safety of our community members, passengers and employees is always our top priority, so anytime an incident of this nature occurs, we are deeply concerned. We are currently working with all respective law enforcement and safety agencies regarding the incident, and in light of these pending investigations, we cannot provide any additional details.”

Meanwhile, the family continues trying to heal.

“We really don’t know what happened and it’s really hard for us to think about it,” Alyssa said. “We still can’t believe this happened. I’m still waiting for him to come home. But he’s never going to be here.”

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RENTON, Wash., Oct 11, 2021 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — It’s no secret that both the COVID-19 pandemic and the volume of unemployment is still causing a disturbing amount of damage across Washington state, says Trusted Plumbing and Heating. With over 100,000 residents in King County still collecting unemployment, thousands of businesses are at risk of closing their doors – simply because they can’t get people to work.

Trusted Plumbing and Heating, a family-owned plumbing business in Renton, is just one of many local businesses feeling the effects of Washington residents not going back to work. While business is booming and there’s no lack of homeowners needing plumbing help, the struggle remains to simply get a team out to the job.

This local team of plumbers is working around the clock to keep up with the heightened demand for plumbing repairs in Seattle and the greater King County area. Jim Cunningham, owner, is offering an extremely generous and lofty bonus for the right candidate.

“Simply put, we just need a plumber. We are looking for a qualified journeyman to join our team. We can’t keep up with demand, and we’ve been searching for months on end. By offering $10,000 we hope to entice the right candidate,” says Cunningham. “Believe me when I say there are many who are shocked that I am going to this extent.”

Across many states, Washington included, thousands of companies are spending their advertising dollars on billboard ads, TV commercials, and even advertising on local transportation stating the need for workers. With no end in sight, Trusted Plumbing and Heating is hoping that their efforts will make a difference.

For anyone interested in learning more, visit https://www.trustedplumbingheating.com/seattle-plumbing/, or contact (206) 231-5008.

News Source: Trusted Plumbing and Heating

Related link: https://www.trustedplumbingheating.com/

This press release was issued on behalf of the news source, who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press Newswire. To view the original story, visit: https://www.send2press.com/wire/seattle-plumbing-company-answers-plea-for-help-with-10000-sign-on-bonus/

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LIVERMORE (KPIX 5) – A power surge in Livermore early Tuesday fried thousands of appliances and likely caused hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, as it impacted 521 homes.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said it happened around midnight Monday night into Tuesday morning when a palm frond falling across a high voltage distribution line and a lower voltage transmission line at Elaine Avenue and Holmes Street in Livermore.

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It caused a power surge so powerful it blew the meters off houses and fried electronics.

“I had the TV on and I literally can see the smoke and sparks flying. It was like a big fire, poof, and then it was over. Completedarkness. It was scary,” said Christy Garcia, one of the impacted homeowners.

“Our dishwasher we just bought is like completely destroyed, coffee maker, Xbox, monitors are fried,” Garcia recalled.

Neighbors also said they lost solar panels, pool pumps, hot tubs, TVs, computers and other small electronics, garage door openers, kitchen appliances, HVAC systems, sprinkler controllers – basically anything that was plugged in when the surge hit.

“How do you have that much electricity going through your house at one time to cause that much damage?” Garcia wants to know.

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“We’re extremely busy right now. Non-stop calls,” said Tim Agront, is one of the project managers for Five or Free, a local Livermore electrical company.

Agront told KPIX 5 that they have worked on 36 houses Tuesday and 43 houses Wednesday.

“Cost of repairs that I’ve seen, probably on the high end, would be at least up to $40,000-$50,000 and that’s just in appliances alone,” he says.

PG&E said impacted homeowners can file a claim on their website but told KPIX 5 in a statement that “Although the palm tree was not in PG&Es right of way and we are not responsible for its maintenance, we will review and consider each claim.”

Agront said one way to prevent something like this from damaging electronics in your home is to have a whole house surge protector installed or ensure all electronics are plugged into strip surge protectors before they’re plugged into the wall.

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Claims with PG&E can be filed by calling the utility’s claims department at (415) 973-4548 or online at www.pge.com/claims. Each household can only file one claim per incident, so people need to make sure they check everything in their homes before filing the claim.

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Ahmad Fawad Yusufi, a refugee from Afghanistan and father of three, was shot dead in a botched robbery attempt in San Francisco last month. His family says Yusufi, a former U.S. Army interpreter who lived in Sacramento, was in San Francisco driving for Uber, a job that was their only source of income.

The shuttle company said Yusufi appeared to be “offline” at the time of the shooting, meaning he was off duty, but his brother Ilyas says Yusufi worked for Uber all night Sunday, which is his reason for staying in San Francisco was early Monday morning at the time of filming. He has written a letter to Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, Chief Legal Officer Tony West, and Senior Vice President of Marketing and Public Affairs Jill Hazelbaker asking for $ 4 million in aid to Yusufi’s family – which he believes the company is “Ethically committed” – and has access to Yusufi’s deactivated Uber account. Ilyas believes the report may provide more information about the circumstances surrounding his brother’s death.

In an interview with The Verge, Ilyas said that it feels like Uber doesn’t care what happened to his brother. “He worked for them, but they don’t want to help us,” he said, adding that Yusufi’s wife does not speak English and is unable to work, so the family is at risk of losing their home. “At the moment we don’t know what to do. But when his children ask me what I did for their father, I have to tell them I tried. I have to try to give them a good life. ”

In his letter, Ilyas points to Khosrowshahi’s September blog post, in which he wrote about being an Iranian refugee as a child, and promised that Uber would support Afghan refugees. The CEO announced that Uber has added an in-app donate button that will send funds to International Rescue Committee refugee resettlement programs and added support for Pashto and Dari languages ​​to its Uber Driver app. “We want to make access to economic opportunities even easier for Afghan refugees, if they are ready,” wrote Khosrowshahi.

“… you turn your back on us in times of need”

But Ilyas said he and hundreds of other Afghan drivers often sleep in their cars while driving for Uber. “And now, after all the work we’ve done for your company, turn your back on us in times of need,” he writes.

In response to a request for comment from The Verge, Uber spokesman Austen Radcliff said in an email that the company was “saddened by this senseless act of violence that killed Mr. Yusufi. Our hearts are with his family at this difficult time. ”Radcliff added that Yusufi was not online or on a trip at the time of the incident and that his last trip was the night before. Uber has reached out to the family to offer their condolences, Radcliff said, and is working to give them access to the account. He referred to an article in the San Francisco Chronicle in which police said Yusufi was with a friend near a park at the time of the incident.

Uber has historically tried to postpone responsibility for incidents with its drivers – who are considered independent contractors rather than employees of the company – if the drivers were inactive at the time.

Perhaps the most famous test for this position is an incident in 2013 where a driver who said he worked for Uber in San Francisco ambushed a family at a zebra crossing and killed six-year-old Sofia Liu. However, the company claimed that although the driver was a “partner” of Uber, he “did not provide any services on the Uber system during the incident”. A lawyer for Liu’s family said the driver was logged into the Uber app at the time to check fares, even though he did not have a passenger in the car when he hit Liu. The company eventually settled out of court with the family, and the incident resulted in new state law requiring drivers and businesses to get liability insurance when using a ride-hailing app.

Yusufi isn’t the first Uber driver to be killed on the job

And Yusufi isn’t the first Uber driver to be killed on the job; two of the most recent incidents are Javier Ramos, who was shot dead in an attempted car theft in Chicago in March, and Timothy Perkins, who was beaten and stabbed to death in Detroit in January.

Driving for the company’s delivery platform Uber Eats can also be dangerous. Pakistani immigrant Mohammad Anwar was killed in an attempted car theft in Washington, DC in March. Two teenagers pleaded guilty to the murder.

Cherri Murphy, an organizer of Gig Workers Rising, a Bay Area organization that supports Yusufi’s family, said Uber drivers sleeping in their cars were not uncommon in the area and criticized the company as it stood out from the crowd “washed his hands” for him and his family. “That is just unacceptable. We stand in strong solidarity with Ahmad’s family and for workers everywhere who are endangered or killed at work. ”

Ilyas, who also drives for Uber, says he and his brother came to the US in 2017 and typically made the trip from Sacramento to San Francisco every weekend to make money on the ride-hailing platform. In his letter to the Uber executives, there is a request that the platform pay its drivers better.

“When my brother and I went to San Francisco every weekend, we couldn’t afford a hotel room after driving your customers around town all night,” Ilyas wrote. “We bring people like you to your multi-million dollar homes every day. We deserve a safe, hospitable place to sleep for the night after. “

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