Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats

Kevin J. Olival; Paul M. Cryan; Brian R. Amman; Ralph S. Baric; David S. Blehert; Cara E. Brook; Charles H. Calisher; Kevin T. Castle; Jeremy T. H. Coleman; Peter Daszak; Jonathan H. Epstein; Hume Field; Winifred F. Frick; Amy T. Gilbert; David T. S. Hayman; Hon S. Ip; William B Karesh; Christine K. Johnson; Rebekah C. Kading; Tigga Kingston; Jeffrey M. Lorch; Ian H. Mendenhall; Alison J. Peel; Kendra L. Phelps; Raina K. Plowright; DeeAnn M. Reeder; Jonathan D. Reichard; Jonathan M. Sleeman; Daniel G. Streicker; Jonathan S. Towner; Lin-Fa Wang

doi:10.1371/journal.ppat.1008758

Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats

PLoS Pathogens

By: Kevin J. Olival, Paul M. Cryan, Brian R. Amman, Ralph S. Baric, David S. Blehert, Cara E. Brook, Charles H. Calisher, Kevin T. Castle, Jeremy T. H. Coleman, Peter Daszak, Jonathan H. Epstein, Hume Field, Winifred F. Frick, Amy T. Gilbert, David T. S. Hayman, Hon S. Ip, William B Karesh, Christine K. Johnson, Rebekah C. Kading, Tigga Kingston, Jeffrey M. Lorch, Ian H. Mendenhall, Alison J. Peel, Kendra L. Phelps, Raina K. Plowright, DeeAnn M. Reeder, Jonathan D. Reichard, Jonathan M. Sleeman, Daniel G. Streicker, Jonathan S. Towner, and Lin-Fa Wang

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.ppat.1008758

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Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the substantial public health, economic, and societal consequences of virus spillover from a wildlife reservoir. Widespread human transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) also presents a new set of challenges when considering viral spillover from people to naïve wildlife and other animal populations. The establishment of new wildlife reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2 would further complicate public health control measures and could lead to wildlife health and conservation impacts. Given the likely bat origin of SARS-CoV-2 and related beta-coronaviruses (β-CoVs), free-ranging bats are a key group of concern for spillover from humans back to wildlife. Here, we review the diversity and natural host range of β-CoVs in bats and examine the risk of humans inadvertently infecting free-ranging bats with SARS-CoV-2. Our review of the global distribution and host range of β-CoV evolutionary lineages suggests that 40+ species of temperate-zone North American bats could be immunologically naïve and susceptible to infection by SARS-CoV-2. We highlight an urgent need to proactively connect the wellbeing of human and wildlife health during the current pandemic and to implement new tools to continue wildlife research while avoiding potentially severe health and conservation impacts of SARS-CoV-2 "spilling back" into free-ranging bat populations.

Additional publication details
Publication type	Article
Publication Subtype	Journal Article
Title	Possibility for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to free-ranging wildlife: A case study of bats
Series title	PLoS Pathogens
DOI	10.1371/journal.ppat.1008758
Volume	9
Issue	16
Year Published	2020
Language	English
Publisher	Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Contributing office(s)	Fort Collins Science Center, National Wildlife Health Center, John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis
Description	e1008758, 19 p.
Google Analytic Metrics	Metrics page