New York finds multiple rats infected with different strains of SARS-CoV-2 virus

New study finds presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus in mice. Photo: New York Post

According to Sputnik (Russia), the new discovery raises concerns that the respiratory disease could spread back to New York - a city with about 8 million rats. Rats are common throughout New York, often hiding in sewers, subways, parks and abandoned buildings.

Tom DeLiberto, co-author of the study and SARS-CoV-2 Coordinator at the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) of the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), said the team of researchers analyzed Norway rats (also known as brown rats) collected from many places near city sewers since 2021 to look for evidence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

After epidemiological studies and genetic sequencing, researchers found that 13 of the 79 rats (16.5%) tested positive for SARS-COV-2. According to the results published in the journal mBio of the American Society for Microbiology, an estimated 1.3 million of New York City's 8 million rats may have contracted Covid-19.

“This is one of the first studies to show that SARS-CoV-2 variants can spread the virus to wild mouse populations in a major US metropolitan area,” said Henry Wan, the study’s principal investigator and director of the Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Missouri.

The researchers also said that the Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants found in humans during the pandemic could infect mice and mutate to adapt to the new host.

“Our findings highlight the need for further monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in mouse populations, which could help us understand the potential for secondary zoonotic transmission to humans. Overall, our study suggests that animals may act as intermediate hosts, transmitting the virus to humans during the pandemic. It is important that we continue to improve our understanding to protect the health of both humans and animals,” said Wan.

In fact, animals infected with the virus that causes Covid-19 are hardly new. When the pandemic broke out in 2020, officials culled about 17 million mink in Denmark after discovering a new strain of the virus. Last year, 2,000 imported hamsters were also culled in Hong Kong.

In August 2022, a global tracker revealed that all kinds of animals had been infected with Covid-19 - including ferrets, hamsters, cats and dogs.

The new mouse study comes as a recent investigation by the US Department of Energy has bolstered reports that the virus may have “leaked” from a Chinese lab, reviving the theory that the Wuhan lab in China could be the source of the outbreak.

Beijing has rejected these claims, citing the results of a World Health Organization investigation that found it highly unlikely that the Wuhan lab was the source of the outbreak.

According to Tin Tuc Newspaper