Widespread exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife communities

Amanda R. Goldberg, Kate E. Langwig, Katherine L. Brown, Jeffrey M. Marano, Pallavi Rai, Kelsie M. King, Amanda K. Sharp, Alessandro Ceci, Christopher D. Kailing, Macy J. Kailing, Russell Briggs, Matthew G. Urbano, Clinton Roby, Anne M. Brown, James Weger-Lucarelli, Carla V. Finkielstein () and Joseph R. Hoyt ()
Additional contact information
Amanda R. Goldberg: Virginia Tech
Kate E. Langwig: Virginia Tech
Katherine L. Brown: Virginia Tech
Jeffrey M. Marano: Virginia Tech
Pallavi Rai: Virginia Tech
Kelsie M. King: Virginia Tech
Amanda K. Sharp: Virginia Tech
Alessandro Ceci: Virginia Tech
Christopher D. Kailing: Virginia Tech
Macy J. Kailing: Virginia Tech
Russell Briggs: Virginia Tech
Matthew G. Urbano: Virginia Tech
Clinton Roby: Virginia Tech
Anne M. Brown: Virginia Tech
James Weger-Lucarelli: Virginia Tech
Carla V. Finkielstein: Virginia Tech
Joseph R. Hoyt: Virginia Tech

Nature Communications, 2024, vol. 15, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: Abstract Pervasive SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans have led to multiple transmission events to animals. While SARS-CoV-2 has a potential broad wildlife host range, most documented infections have been in captive animals and a single wildlife species, the white-tailed deer. The full extent of SARS-CoV-2 exposure among wildlife communities and the factors that influence wildlife transmission risk remain unknown. We sampled 23 species of wildlife for SARS-CoV-2 and examined the effects of urbanization and human use on seropositivity. Here, we document positive detections of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in six species, including the deer mouse, Virginia opossum, raccoon, groundhog, Eastern cottontail, and Eastern red bat between May 2022–September 2023 across Virginia and Washington, D.C., USA. In addition, we found that sites with high human activity had three times higher seroprevalence than low human-use areas. We obtained SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequences from nine individuals of six species which were assigned to seven Pango lineages of the Omicron variant. The close match to variants circulating in humans at the time suggests at least seven recent human-to-animal transmission events. Our data support that exposure to SARS-CoV-2 has been widespread in wildlife communities and suggests that areas with high human activity may serve as points of contact for cross-species transmission.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49891-w

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