Warning that rats living in the sewers of New York City are a reservoir for Covid

The team also conducted experiments to determine which variants of Covid are capable of infecting rats in the first place.

A so-called virus challenge study revealed that the Alpha, Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2 are all capable of causing infection in “Sprague Dawley”-type albino lab rats.

The team found high viral replication levels in both the animals’ upper and lower respiratory tracts, as well as the induction of both innate and adaptive immune responses — although the susceptibility to infection was, they noted, varied depending on the particular variant.

Prof. Wan concluded: “Our findings highlight the need for further monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in rat populations to determine if the virus is circulating in the animals and evolving into new strains that could pose a risk to humans.

“SARS-CoV-2 virus presents a typical one-health challenge which requires collaborative, multisectoral and transdisciplinary approaches to fully understand such challenges.”

The full findings of the study were published in the journal mBio.

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1744369/covid-rats-new-york-city-sewers-carry-covid-reservoir-alpha-delta-omicron-variants