U.S. Department of Agriculture: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

 

United States Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Document Type

Article

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.

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