2020-11-14NewScientistAustralianEdition

14 November 2020 | New Scientist | 11

Susceptible

Domestic cat (Felis catus)

Domestic dog (Canis lupus

familiaris)

Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes

procyonoides)

Ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

Mink (Neovison vison)

Lion (Panthera leo)

Tiger (Panthera tigris)

Probably susceptible

Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes)

Western lowland gorilla

(Gorilla gorilla gorilla)

Sumatran orangutan

(Pongo abelii)

Red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Leopard (Panthera pardus)

Cougar (Puma concolor)

Possibly susceptible

Domestic cow (Bos taurus)

Domestic goat (Capra hircus)

Domestic sheep (Ovis aries)

Horse (Equus caballus)

Orca (Orcinus orca)

Long-finned pilot whale,

pictured (Globicephala melas)

Probably not susceptible

Wild boar (Sus scrofa)

Black-capped squirrel monkey

(Saimiri boliviensis boliviensis)

Sperm whale (Physeter

catodon)

Tufted capuchin (Sapajus

apella)

Brown rat (Rattus norvegicus)

Not susceptible

Western European house

mouse (Mus musculus

domesticus)

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role they play in brewing up new
coronaviruses, most research on
reverse spillover has focused on
bats. That is especially true in parts
of the world where bats remain
free of betacoronaviruses, the
subgroup of coronaviruses to
which SARS-CoV-2 belongs. That’s

because these bats’ lack of prior
exposure to similar viruses may
make them uniquely susceptible.
One of these regions is the
temperate zone of North America.
This is home to 45 species of bat

that occur nowhere else in the

world and have had no contact

with bats outside the Americas

for tens of millions of years,

as bats don’t migrate across

the Atlantic or Pacific oceans.

Despite extensive surveys,

betacoronaviruses have never

been detected in any of these bats.

That may be because they aren’t

susceptible to betacoronaviruses,

but that is extremely unlikely,

according to a recent study by Paul

Cryan of the US Geological Survey

and Kevin Olival of the EcoHealth

Alliance, a non-profit group that

researches emerging diseases.

Endangered bats

While North American bats

don’t have betacoronaviruses,

they are loaded with closely

related alphacoronaviruses. Bats

elsewhere readily carry both types.

The fear is that the North

American bats will prove highly

susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and

experience major mortality. At

least eight and maybe as many as

14 of the 45 species are already at

risk, and under increasing pressure

from habitat loss and wind turbine

strikes. Bat populations already

weakened by a fungal disease

called white nose syndrome

could be wiped out by the virus.

Reverse spillover into bats is

obviously bad for bats, but could

be a problem for us, too. For one

thing, bats provide useful

ecosystem services, including

pollination, seed dispersal and

pest control, so losing bat

populations would have a severe

impact on nature and farming. It

could also push the pandemic to

become even more out of control

than it already is. “Bats could

become a reservoir source of

infection for people,” says Peel,

with the virus then potentially

spilling back into people.

Mammals at risk

Almost 60 species of mammal have so far been found to be

susceptible, or probably/possibly susceptible, to SARS-CoV-2,

while others probably aren’t at risk. These include:

> For a full list see: Mammal Review, doi.org/fhkd

17m
The number of mink that were
almost culled in Denmark