#16,995
Although incredibly well-adapted to humans, the SARS-CoV-2 virus emerged from a non-human reservoir host (likely a bat), and over the past 33 months has demonstrated an ability to infect, and spread, in a number of other species.
There are genuine concerns that if SARS-CoV-2 should establish itself in a new host, it could take new, divergent evolutionary pathways - possibly even recombining with other coronaviruses (MERS-CoV, BCOV, etc.) - producing variants or a chimera that could `spill back' into humans down the road with unpredictable results.
How often SARS-CoV-2 infects animals in the wild is largely unknown, as only a few narrowly targeted surveillance programs have been attempted. But the spillover of the virus into other species is increasingly viewed as a serious threat (see WHO/FAO/OIE Joint Statement On Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 In Wildlife & Preventing Formation of Reservoirs).
Today the USDA has announced that they have updated their SARS-CoV-2 Dashboard for infections in animals. I'll have more after the break.
Published: Sep 7, 2022
USDA Announces Updated Dashboard with Data on SARS-COV-2 Variants Detected in Animals
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2022 – The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) will launch an updated web-based dashboard containing information on SARS-CoV-2 variants detected in animals. This data is important as we and researchers around the world work to better understand and combat SARS-CoV-2 and protect animal and human health.
APHIS scientists, in collaboration with their partners, have studied SARS-CoV-2 in animals through surveillance, testing and research. APHIS has confirmed cases in several animal species including cats, dogs, animals in zoos and aquariums, mink, white-tailed deer, and mule deer. The full list of confirmed cases of SARS-CoV-2 in U.S. animals can be found on the APHIS One Health website, which now includes the expanded variant data.
Experts at APHIS are still learning about SARS-CoV-2 in animals, but there is currently no evidence that animals play a significant role in spreading the virus to humans. Based on the information available to date, the risk of animals spreading SARS-CoV-2 to people is low.APHIS is uniquely positioned for this work because of its scientific expertise in animal health and animal diseases, including preparing for and responding to foreign animal disease outbreaks. Teams across APHIS are prioritizing their charge under the provision of the American Rescue Plan Act to conduct monitoring and surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in susceptible animals using a One Health approach. APHIS is currently conducting multiple projects under the American Rescue Plan Act aimed at understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus behaves in different animals, how it moves between animals and people and what we and our public health partners can do to interrupt the chain of transmission. As the organization expands and enhances its capacities to address the immediate threat of SARS-CoV-2, specialists at APHIS are building critical capacity to address future emerging threats and prevent or limit any future pandemics, to protect the health and welfare of the Nation’s animals as it has for more than 50 years.
A year ago we looked at a perspective article, published in China's CCDC Weekly by two well-known Chinese scientists - George F. Gao and Liang Wang - on the continual spread of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to other animal hosts, and the impacts that could have going forward (see Perspectives: COVID-19 Expands Its Territories from Humans to Animals).
Just over 6 months ago, those same authors returned with China CDC Weekly Perspective: The “Wolf” Is Indeed Coming: Recombinant “Deltacron” SARS-CoV-2 Detected, where they presented the `first solid evidence for a recombinant strain from 2 types of variants of concern (VOCs) of SARS-CoV-2 (lineage AY.4 and BA.1, belonging to Delta and Omicron, respectively).
The authors then warned that the potential for new recombinants arising from confections - particularly in wild and domesticated animals - was very high.
Some recent blogs on the spillover of COVID to other species include:
