Watching for new COVID variants in wildlife "now critical," CDC says

Citing concerns over new coronavirus variants that are mutating in American wildlife and could spread back to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is now urging health authorities to ramp up their efforts to regularly track the spread of the virus in animals. 

The shift in the CDC's guidance, which strips out an earlier recommendation that state agencies could "avoid routine animal testing," comes as key officials from across the country have been huddling to strategize over the potential threat. It's part of the CDC's "One Health" initiative, which focuses on how human health "is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment." 

"One of CDC's primary One Health concerns is the establishment of a North American animal reservoir in which the virus could 'hide,' mutate, and potentially re-emerge as a new variant in the human population," Jasmine Reed, a CDC spokesperson, said in a statement.