WILD RATS LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY SEWERS ARE CARRYING CORONAVIRUS
BBC Science Focus|April 2023
More than 15 per cent of rats captured in wastewater systems tested positive for the virus
WILD RATS LIVING IN NEW YORK CITY SEWERS ARE CARRYING CORONAVIRUS

According to a study carried out by researchers at the University of Missouri, a significant proportion of rats living in the New York municipal sewer systems are infected with A SARS-CoV-2.

The team carried out two trapping sessions in the autumn of 2021 to round up wild brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in areas surrounding wastewater systems in city parks within Brooklyn. Of the 79 rats they captured, 13 tested positive for COVID - that's around 16 per cent.

This story is from the April 2023 edition of BBC Science Focus.

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This story is from the April 2023 edition of BBC Science Focus.

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