A Virginia Tech study has uncovered that SARS-CoV-2 is prevalent among various wildlife species, a finding that underscores the importance of monitoring and controlling the virus beyond human populations. Researchers highlight the need for broad surveillance to track viral mutations and prevent further spread.
In a remarkable breakthrough, researchers from Virginia Tech have discovered that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is widespread among several wildlife species, particularly in areas with high human activity. This significant finding, published in the journal Nature Communications, extends the understanding of virus transmission beyond human populations and emphasizes the need for broader surveillance.
Virginia Tech scientists revealed that the virus was detected in six common backyard species, with antibodies indicating prior exposure found in five species. The rates of exposure ranged from 40 to 60 percent, indicating a high prevalence in wildlife near human-occupied areas.
The research team, consisting of scientists from Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, the Department of Biological Sciences in the College of Science and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, analyzed genetic lineages of the virus in wildlife. They identified unique mutations in the virus isolated from an opossum, previously unreported, highlighting a potential for changes that could impact human immune responses.
“The virus can jump from humans to wildlife when we are in contact with them, like a hitchhiker switching rides to a new, more suitable host,” Carla Finkielstein, the study’s co-corresponding author and a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, said in a news release. “The goal of the virus is to spread in order to survive.”
This research expands on prior studies that primarily focused on white-tailed deer and feral mink, significantly broadening the knowledge on how SARS-CoV-2 transmits to and among wildlife. It underscores the potential for public areas to serve as key points of contact for cross-species transmission.
“A lot of studies to date have focused on white-tailed deer, while what is happening in much of our common backyard wildlife remains unknown,” added co-corresponding author Joseph Hoyt, an assistant professor of Biological Sciences at Virginia Tech’s College of Science.
The researchers collected nearly 800 nasal and oral swabs from animals either live-trapped or treated in wildlife rehabilitation centers. They discovered that two deer mice at the same site carried an identical variant of the virus, suggesting either both were infected by the same human or one transmitted it to the other.
Possible sources of the virus include human trash and discarded food, with researchers emphasizing the importance of understanding these transmission pathways.
“We found positives in a large suite of common backyard animals,” Amanda Goldberg, the study’s first author and former postdoctoral associate in Hoyt’s lab, said in the news release.
While the study primarily focused on Virginia, species such as deer mice, opossums, raccoons and others are common throughout North America, pointing to a broader issue of virus exposure in wildlife.
“The virus is indifferent to whether its host walks on two legs or four. Its primary objective is survival,” added Finkielstein. “Mutations that do not confer a survival or replication advantage to the virus will not persist and will eventually disappear.”
Finkielstein praised her team for their monumental task in sequencing the genome of the virus infecting wildlife species, a project that required state-of-the-art facilities and a talented group of molecular biologists, bioinformaticians and modelers.
The researchers call for continued surveillance and further studies to understand how SARS-CoV-2 transmits from humans to wildlife and among different species.
“This study highlights the potentially large host range SARS-CoV-2 can have in nature and really how widespread it might be,” added Hoyt.
In essence, the scientists stress the necessity of a multidisciplinary approach to address the virus’s impact across various species and ecosystems.
“What we’ve already learned is that SARS CoV-2 is not only a human problem,” Finkielstein added, “and it takes a multidisciplinary team to address its impact effectively.”
The data from this study raises awareness about the pervasive nature of SARS-CoV-2 and urges global attention to wildlife surveillance to prevent future viral outbreaks.