RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 SARS-CoV-2 wildlife surveillance in Ontario and Québec, Canada
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.12.02.470924
DO 10.1101/2021.12.02.470924
A1 Janet E. Greenhorn
A1 Jonathon D. Kotwa
A1 Jeff Bowman
A1 Laura Bruce
A1 Tore Buchanan
A1 Peter A. Buck
A1 Antonia Dibernardo
A1 Logan Flockhart
A1 Marianne Gagnier
A1 Aaron Hou
A1 Claire M. Jardine
A1 Stephane Lair
A1 L. Robbin Lindsay
A1 Ariane Masse
A1 Pia K. Muchaal
A1 Larissa A. Nituch
A1 Angelo Sotto
A1 Brian Stevens
A1 Lily Yip
A1 Samira Mubareka
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/12/03/2021.12.02.470924.abstract
AB Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic, is capable of infecting a variety of wildlife species. Wildlife living in close contact with humans are at an increased risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure and if infected have the potential to become a reservoir for the pathogen, making control and management more difficult.Objective To conduct SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in urban wildlife from Ontario and Québec, Canada, increasing our knowledge of the epidemiology of the virus and our chances of detecting spillover from humans into wildlife.Methods Using a One Health approach, we leveraged activities of existing research, surveillance, and rehabilitation programs among multiple agencies to collect samples from 776 animals from 17 different wildlife species between June 2020 and May 2021. Samples from all animals were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA, and a subset of samples from 219 animals across 3 species (raccoons, Procyon lotor; striped skunks, Mephitis mephitis; and mink, Neovison vison) were also tested for the presence of neutralizing antibodies.Results No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA or neutralizing antibodies was detected in any of the tested samples.Conclusion Although we were unable to identify positive SARS-CoV-2 cases in wildlife, continued research and surveillance activities are critical to better understand the rapidly changing landscape of susceptible animal species. Collaboration between academic, public and animal health sectors should include experts from relevant fields to build coordinated surveillance and response capacity.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.