In 2022, the Wildlife Center began collaborating with Virginia Tech on a year-long SARS-CoV-2 study to determine how prevalent the virus that causes COVID-19 has become in wildlife. Though COVID-19 has been well-studied in humans, little is known about how it impacts wildlife, or which species can even carry the virus. Samples from patients at the Center helped researchers learn just that.
“It is exactly the type of research we are well poised to help with,” said Dr. Olivia, the Center’s Research Fellow. “It wouldn’t be realistic – or feasible – for researchers to go out into the field to find, capture, and collect samples from hundreds of animals. But here at the Center, thousands of animals come to us as patients, and taking samples during an initial examination can be done quickly.”
Over the course of a year, the Center collected 71 nasal swab samples from mammal species, ranging from bats and mice to Eastern Cottontails and skunks. Once the samples had been sent out, researchers at Virginia Tech analyzed each sample—in addition to samples from other rehabilitation centers and field-caught wildlife—for the genetic markers of SARS-CoV-2.
“Our test is designed to be specific and sensitive to the detection of SARS-CoV-2," said Dr. Finkielstein, professor of biological sciences at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech who helped lead the study, "with test results being reported within hours after receiving a sample." Dr. Finkielston noted that one difference between their method and other technologies used is in the way it classifies a sample as positive or negative. With the number of SARS-CoV-2 variants circulating, it can be challenging.
The results came as somewhat of a surprise to the research team – though they expected some animals to test positive for COVID-19 markers, it was more widespread than previously thought. Of the samples that were analyzed, there were positive detections in six species: Virginia Opossums, Deer Mice, Raccoons, Eastern Cottontails, Groundhogs, and Eastern Redbats.
In addition, the study also revealed that the prevalence of COVID-19 in wildlife was much higher in areas of human activity, like hiking trails or urban areas, showing how easily it can spread.
“The virus is indifferent to whether its host walks on two legs or four,” said Dr. Finkielstein. “The virus can jump from humans to wildlife when we are in contact with them, like a hitchhiker switching rides to a new, more suitable host.”
However, researchers have not found any evidence of COVID-19 being transmitted from these animals to humans and urges the public not to worry when encountering wildlife. Instead, much of the focus is on the impact on wildlife. “What we’ve already learned,” Finkielstein said, “is that SARS CoV-2 is not only a human problem and that it takes a heck of a multidisciplinary team to address its impact on various species and ecosystems effectively.”
At the Center, staff members continue to take precautions to prevent the spread of disease in the hospital, including wearing protective personal equipment (PPE), such as face masks and gloves, when working with mammal patients. While this is the first COVID-19 study that the Center started contributing to since the onset of the pandemic, staff are also contributing to other studies – including an ongoing submission of swabs and blood samples to the USDA.
This is just one way that patients at the Wildlife Center help us understand more about the world we share. As a teaching and research hospital for wildlife, the Center is committed to gathering as much information as possible about each patient that is admitted.
“Research like this is just as important to our mission as the animals we’re treating,” says Dr. Olivia. “It helps us learn so much more about these animals, and in this case, what we learn has the potential to protect both people and wildlife.”
For more information on Dr. Finkiielstein and Dr. Hoyt's study, which was recently published in the journal Nature, visit this page.