Typically, the coronavirus infects individuals through the nose and mouth, multiplying in the respiratory system and sometimes migrating to the lungs. However, with the increasing levels of coronavirus detected in sewage, some scientists have begun to investigate whether the virus targets human intestines. According to the British newspaper "Daily Mail," some virologists believe that the COVID-19 virus may have changed its methods of entering cells, meaning it could infect the intestines more easily.
Indeed, scientists around the world, including in the United States, have observed significant traces of the COVID-19 virus in sewage. Mark Johnson, a molecular virologist and professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Missouri, stated, "It is possible that the concentration of the recently dominant JN.1 variant of COVID is higher in the digestive tract," but he clarified that there is currently no direct evidence for this theory. He added that many other coronaviruses infect the digestive tract, so this would not be surprising.
The JN.1 strain now accounts for about 29% of coronavirus cases, a sharp increase from less than one percent in early November. This variant is considered more contagious and more capable of evading the immune system compared to other variants. However, there is no evidence that it causes more severe disease than other circulating variants.
