U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Date of this Version
5-12-2020
Citation
Franklin, A.B., and S.N. Bevins. 2020. Spillover of SARS-CoV-2 into novel wild hosts in North America: A conceptual model for perpetuation of the pathogen. Science of the Total Environment 733:139358. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139358
Abstract
There is evidence that the current outbreak of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19, is of animal origin. As with a number of zoonotic pathogens, there is a risk of spillover into novel hosts. Here, we propose a hypothesized conceptual model that illustrates the mechanism whereby the SARS-CoV-2 could spillover from infected humans to naive wildlife hosts in North America. This proposed model is premised on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from human feces through municipal wastewater treatment plants into the natural aquatic environment where potential wildlife hosts become infected. We use the existing literature on human coronaviruses, including SARS CoV, to support the potential pathways and mechanisms in the conceptual model. Although we focus on North America, our conceptual model could apply to other parts of the globe as well.
Included in
Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Other Environmental Sciences Commons, Other Veterinary Medicine Commons, Population Biology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Veterinary Infectious Diseases Commons, Veterinary Microbiology and Immunobiology Commons, Veterinary Preventive Medicine, Epidemiology, and Public Health Commons, Zoology Commons