COVID-19 Transmission to Wildlife

This fall, researchers in Utah began surveying wildlife populations after a breakout of the COVID-19 SARS-2 virus in domestic mink farms.  They found one wild mink who had contracted the virus, apparently from contact with farmed mink.  Interspecies infection has been a hallmark of the SARS-2 Cov2 virus from the start.  Nevertheless, the new finding raises questions about what impact the pandemic might have on wildlife populations.  Tony Goldberg is a Professor of Pathobiological Sciences at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine and Associate Director for Research at the UW Global Health Institute. Mink in the Park photo: qmnonic Creative Commons license