- Title
- Risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic wildlife
- Creator
- Barbosa, Andres; Varsani, Arvind; Morandini, Virginia; Grimaldi, Wray; Vanstreels, Ralph; Diaz, Julia; Boulinier, Thierry; Dewar, Meagan; González-Acuña, Daniel; Gray, Rachael; McMahon, Clive; Miller, Gary; Power, Michelle; Gamble, Amandine; Wille, Michelle
- Date
- 2021
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/175209
- Identifier
- vital:14922
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143352
- Identifier
- ISBN:0048-9697
- Abstract
- The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). This pathogen has spread rapidly across the world, causing high numbers of deaths and significant social and economic impacts. SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus with a suggested zoonotic origin with the potential for cross-species transmission among animals. Antarctica can be considered the only continent free of SARS-CoV-2. Therefore, concerns have been expressed regarding the potential human introduction of this virus to the continent through the activities of research or tourism to minimise the effects on human health, and the potential for virus transmission to Antarctic wildlife. We assess the reverse-zoonotic transmission risk to Antarctic wildlife by considering the available information on host susceptibility, dynamics of the infection in humans, and contact interactions between humans and Antarctic wildlife. The environmental conditions in Antarctica seem to be favourable for the virus stability. Indoor spaces such as those at research stations, research vessels or tourist cruise ships could allow for more transmission among humans and depending on their movements between different locations the virus could be spread across the continent. Among Antarctic wildlife previous in silico analyses suggested that cetaceans are at greater risk of infection whereas seals and birds appear to be at a low infection risk. However, caution needed until further research is carried out and consequently, the precautionary principle should be applied. Field researchers handling animals are identified as the human group posing the highest risk of transmission to animals while tourists and other personnel pose a significant risk only when in close proximity (< 5 m) to Antarctic fauna. We highlight measures to reduce the risk as well as identify of knowledge gaps related to this issue. © 2020 The Authors
- Publisher
- Elsevier B.V.
- Relation
- Science of the Total Environment Vol. 755, no. 2 (2021), p. 1-8
- Rights
- All metadata describing materials held in, or linked to, the repository is freely available under a CC0 licence
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
- Rights
- Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. Published version. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
- Rights
- Open Access
- Subject
- MD Multidisciplinary; Antarctica; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Mitigation measures; Reverse zoonoses; Transmission
- Full Text
- Reviewed
- Funder
- AB is supported by the Spanish Research Agency project ( CTM2015-64720 ). AG is supported by the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA PREEMPT Cooperative Agreement No. D18AC00031 ). The content of the information does not necessarily reflect the position or the policy of the US government, and no official endorsement should be inferred. AV is supported by National Science Foundation (USA) Polar program (award # 1947040 ). CRM is supported by Australia's Integrated Marine Observing System . IMOS is enabled by the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS). It is operated by a consortium of institutions as an unincorporated joint venture, with the University of Tasmania as Lead Agent. JID is supported by Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET) and Universidad Nacional de La Plata UNLP (N# 859 ). VM is supported by National Science Foundation (USA) Polar program ( PLR 1543459 ). TB is supported by CNRS , French Polar Institute Project ECOPATH ( IPEV 1151 ), ZATA and OSU OREME. DGA is supported by INACH T-23-19 project.
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