New research shows that the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2, is widespread among wildlife in Virginia.
Researchers found the virus in six common backyard species and detected antibodies in five species, indicating prior exposure.
The rates of exposure ranged from 40% to 60% depending on the species.
The study, conducted by scientists from the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, Virginia Tech’s College of Science, and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and unique viral mutations in wildlife.
These mutations closely matched the variants circulating in humans, suggesting human-to-animal transmission.
Animals near hiking trails and high-traffic public areas showed the highest exposure, indicating that the virus likely passed from humans to wildlife.
Researchers stress that they found no evidence of the virus being transmitted from animals to humans, so people should not fear normal interactions with wildlife.
The researchers tested 23 common Virginia species for active infections and antibodies indicating past infections.
They found the virus in deer mice, Virginia opossums, raccoons, groundhogs, Eastern cottontail rabbits, and Eastern red bats. One opossum even showed viral mutations previously unreported, which could potentially affect how the virus impacts 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,” says Carla Finkielstein, a professor at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
“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 in wildlife have been previously identified, mainly in white-tailed deer and feral mink. This new study significantly expands the number of species examined and our understanding of virus transmission to and among wildlife.
The data suggests that the virus has been widespread in wildlife and that areas with high human activity may serve as points of contact for cross-species transmission.
“This study was motivated by the large gap in our knowledge about SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a broader wildlife community,” says Joseph Hoyt, assistant professor at Virginia Tech. “Many studies 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 across Virginia from live-trapped and released animals or those treated at wildlife rehabilitation centers.
They also obtained 126 blood samples from six species. Locations ranged from urban areas to remote wilderness to compare the virus’s presence in animals at sites with varying levels of human activity.
Scientists believe that human-to-animal transmission may occur through trash receptacles and discarded food. The study found two mice at the same site with the exact same variant, indicating they either both got it from the same human or one infected the other.
The researchers emphasize the importance of continued surveillance for these mutations and more research on how the virus is transmitted from humans to wildlife, how it spreads within a species, and possibly between different species.
The study highlights the potentially large host range of SARS-CoV-2 in nature and how widespread it might be. The research appears in Nature Communications and is supported by a grant from the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
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