US: Millions of rats in New York may have COVID-19, fear of spreading to humans

The study was conducted by experts at the University of Missouri (USA) and published in the scientific journal mBio of the American Academy of Microbiology on March 9.

Accordingly, experts analyzed rats caught at various locations near sewers in New York during the fall of 2021. They found that rats in this city are susceptible to many strains of SARS-CoV-2.

Dr. Tom DeLiberto (co-author of the study) said that 13 out of 79 mice (16.5%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 virus. From there, it can be estimated that about 1.3 million mice out of a total of 8 million mice in New York may be infected with SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Millions of rats in New York, USA, may be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19. Illustration: Lokman Vural Elibol

The researchers also found that the mice could be infected not only with the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants, but also with SARS-CoV-2 viruses that had mutated after infection and adapted to a new host strain. From this, some researchers say it is not impossible that in the future, SARS-CoV-2 strains could re-emerge and re-infect humans.

"The findings suggest that it is necessary to monitor COVID-19 in mice to prevent the possibility of zoonotic transmission to humans," said Henry Wan, principal investigator of the study and director of the Center for Influenza and Emerging Infectious Diseases at the University of Missouri.

The study was conducted as the US was in the midst of a decline in the number of Delta variant infections from more than 1 million cases per week in September to 500,000 cases per week in November 2021.

Currently, the Omicron variant is dominating other variants in the US with 226,618 infections per week, as of March 1.

Bang Hung

Source: https://nld.com.vn/suc-khoe/my-hang-trieu-con-chuot-o-new-york-co-the-mac-covid-19-lo-ngai-lay-cho-nguoi-20230310150427343.htm