A new study has found that New York City rats can actually be infected with the COVID-19 virus. "Our findings highlight the need for further monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in rat populations for potential secondary zoonotic transmission to humans," said the lead author of the study Dr. Henry Wan.
CNN reports researchers trapped and processed samples from rats around the city and found that 16.5 percent of the tested rats tested positive for the virus. The report writes that the virus was "identified in sewage water systems" and "coincides with outbreaks in resident human populations," but "no evidence has shown that SARS-CoV-2 viruses in sewage water are infectious." This shows "that sewage rats may have been exposed to the virus through airborne transmission ... or indirect transmission from unknown fomites."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
July 5 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an extrajudicial detainment camp, 'alligator Alcatraz', and tax cuts for billionaires.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of JulyCartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Scientists want to regrow human limbs. Salamanders could lead the way.Under the radar Humans may already have the genetic mechanism necessary
-
New York plans first nuclear plant in 36 yearsSpeed Read The plant, to be constructed somewhere in upstate New York, will produce enough energy to power a million homes
-
A potentially mutating bat virus has some scientists worried about the next pandemicUnder the Radar One subgroup of bat merbecovirus has scientists concerned
-
Dehorning rhinos sharply cuts poaching, study findsSpeed Read The painless procedure may be an effective way to reduce the widespread poaching of rhinoceroses
-
Breakthrough gene-editing treatment saves babyspeed read KJ Muldoon was healed from a rare genetic condition
-
Sea lion proves animals can keep a beatspeed read A sea lion named Ronan beat a group of college students in a rhythmic dance-off, says new study
-
Humans heal much slower than other mammalsSpeed Read Slower healing may have been an evolutionary trade-off when we shed fur for sweat glands
-
Novel 'bone collector' caterpillar wears its preySpeed Read Hawaiian scientists discover a carnivorous caterpillar that decorates its shell with the body parts of dead insects
