Risk assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic wildlife

• Published in: Science of The Total Environment
• Main Authors: Barbosa, Andrés, Varsani, Arvind, Morandini, Virginia, Grimaldi, Wray, Vanstreels, Ralph E.T., Diaz, Julia, Boulinier, Thierry, Dewar, Meagan, González-Acuña, Daniel, Gray, Rachael, Mcmahon, Clive, Miller, Gary, Power, Michelle, Gamble, Amandine, Wille, Michelle
• Other Authors: Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales Madrid (MNCN), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas España = Spanish National Research Council Spain (CSIC), School of Life Sciences Tempe, USA, Arizona State University Tempe (ASU), Oregon State University (OSU), Universidad Nacional de la Plata Argentine (UNLP), Centre d’Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive (CEFE), Université Paul-Valéry - Montpellier 3 (UPVM)-École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université Paris Sciences et Lettres (PSL)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD France-Sud )-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut Agro - Montpellier SupAgro, Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), Federation University Churchill, Australia, Universidad de Concepción = University of Concepción Chile (UdeC), The University of Sydney, The University of Western Australia (UWA), Macquarie University Sydney, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University of California (UC)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2021
• Subjects: Antarctica; Coronavirus; COVID-19; Mitigation measures; Reverse zoonoses; Transmission; [SDV.BA.MVSA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology/Veterinary medicine and animal Health; [SDV.MHEP.MI]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Infectious diseases; [SDV.MHEP.ME]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Human health and pathology/Emerging diseases; [SDV.SPEE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Santé publique et épidémiologie; Antarctic; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-03082088; https://hal.science/hal-03082088/document; https://hal.science/hal-03082088/file/1-s2.0-S0048969720368832-main.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143352

International audience 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