Virginia Tech Scientists Discover Widespread COVID-19 Virus in Wildlife

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Virginia Tech scientists have discovered that SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, is prevalent among wildlife species in Virginia. According to research published in Nature Communications, 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, depending on the species.

 

The study tracked the virus’s genetic code in wild animals, confirming both the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and unique viral mutations that closely matched variants circulating in humans, supporting the theory of human-to-animal transmission.

 

The highest exposure to SARS-CoV-2 was found in animals near hiking trails and high-traffic public areas, suggesting the virus was passed from humans to wildlife. This research was conducted by scientists from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, the Department of Biological Sciences in Virginia Tech’s College of Science, and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute.

 

The study’s findings highlight the identification of novel mutations in SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife, underscoring the need for broad surveillance. These mutations could be more harmful and transmissible, posing challenges for vaccine development. However, the scientists emphasized that they found no evidence of the virus being transmitted from animals to humans, assuring the public that typical interactions with wildlife should not be a cause for fear.

 

Investigators tested animals from 23 common Virginia species for active infections and antibodies indicating previous infections. They found signs of the virus in deer mice, Virginia opossums, raccoons, groundhogs, Eastern cottontail rabbits, and Eastern red bats. The virus isolated from one opossum showed previously unreported viral mutations that could potentially impact how the virus affects humans and their immune response.

 

“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,” explained Carla Finkielstein, a professor of biological sciences at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC and one of the paper’s corresponding authors. “The goal of the virus is to spread in order to survive. The virus aims to infect more humans, but vaccinations protect many humans. So the virus turns to animals, adapting and mutating to thrive in the new hosts.”

 

SARS-CoV-2 infections have previously been identified in wildlife, primarily in white-tailed deer and feral mink. The Virginia Tech study significantly expands the number of species examined and the understanding of virus transmission to and among wildlife. The data suggests exposure to the virus has been widespread in wildlife, with areas of high human activity serving as points of contact for cross-species transmission.

 

“This study was really motivated by seeing a large, important gap in our knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a broader wildlife community,” said Joseph Hoyt, assistant professor of biological sciences in Virginia Tech’s College of Science and corresponding author on the paper. “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.”

 

The research team collected 798 nasal and oral swabs from animals across Virginia, either live-trapped in the field and released or being treated by wildlife rehabilitation centers. They also obtained 126 blood samples from six species. The locations were chosen to compare the presence of the virus in animals in sites with varying levels of human activity, from urban areas to remote wilderness.

 

The study also identified two mice at the same site on the same day with the exact same variant, indicating they either both got it from the same human or one infected the other. Researchers are uncertain about the means of transmission from humans to animals. One possibility is wastewater, but the Virginia Tech scientists believe trash receptacles and discarded food are more likely sources.

 

“I think the big take-home message is the virus is pretty ubiquitous,” said Amanda Goldberg, a former postdoctoral associate in Hoyt’s lab and the study’s first author. “We found positives in a large suite of common backyard animals.”

 

While this study focused on Virginia, many of the species that tested positive are common backyard wildlife found throughout North America. It is likely they are being exposed in other areas as well, and surveillance across a broader region is urgently needed, Hoyt said.

“The virus is indifferent to whether its host walks on two legs or four.

 

Its primary objective is survival. Mutations that do not confer a survival or replication advantage to the virus will not persist and will eventually disappear,” said Finkielstein, who is also director of the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics Lab. The Roanoke lab was established in April 2020 to expand COVID-19 testing. “We understood the critical importance of sequencing the genome of the virus infecting those species.

 

It was a monumental task that could only be accomplished by a talented group of molecular biologists, bioinformaticians, and modelers in a state-of-the-art facility. I am proud of my team and my collaborators, their professionalism, and everything they contributed to ensure our success.”

 

Scientists emphasize the need for continued surveillance for these mutations and caution against dismissing them. More research is necessary to understand how the virus is transmitted from humans to wildlife, how it might spread within a species, and potentially from one species to another.

 

“This study highlights the potentially large host range SARS-CoV-2 can have in nature and really how widespread it might be,” Hoyt said. “There is a lot of work to be done to understand which species of wildlife, if any, will be important in the long-term maintenance of SARS-CoV-2 in humans.”

 

Finkielstein added, “But what we’ve already learned is that SARS-CoV-2 is not only a human problem and that it takes a heck of a multidisciplinary team to address its impact on various species and ecosystems effectively.”

 

Other authors on the paper include:

- Kate Langwig, associate professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Fralin Life Sciences Institute
- James Weger-Lucarelli, assistant professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
- Anne Brown, associate professor, Department of Biochemistry
- Amanda Goldberg, former postdoctoral associate, Department of Biological Sciences
- Jeffrey Marano, graduate research assistant, Department of Biological Sciences
- Pallavi Rai, graduate research assistant, Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine
- Kelsi King, graduate research assistant, Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology
- Amanda Sharp, graduate research assistant, Genetics, Bioinformatics, and Computational Biology
- Christopher Kailing, graduate research assistant, Department of Biological Sciences
- Macy Kailing, graduate research assistant, Department of Biological Sciences
- Members of the Virginia Tech Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory: Katherine L. Brown, Alessandro Ceci, Russell Briggs, Matthew G. Urbano, Clinton Roby

 

Credit: Virginia Tech  2024-08-03

 

 

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[Elkski]

Covod is still a thing.   Wife and I had it July , it knocked her down for 7 days.  Me about 5.