KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS), in partnership with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and others, has identified the presence of the omicron variant in two wastewater samples, one of them in Jackson County.

The two samples were taken from the Little Blue Valley Sewer District Atherton/Middle Big Creek wastewater treatment facility sewersheds in Jackson County and the St. Joseph wasterwater treatment facility sewershed in Buchanan County.

"In both wastewater systems, 2% of the COVID-19 viral strands were identified as having mutations associated with Omicron," a release from DHSS said. "This measurement is not a direct estimate of the percent of COVID-19 positive human cases in the area that are caused by the Omicron variant. Rather, it is only an indication that the Omicron variant virus is likely present among the population in these sewershed areas."