Photo | Courtesy | UMass Medical School
Elinor Karlsson
September 2, 2020
UMass Medical study finds coronavirus' danger to gorillas, whales & dolphins
It isn't just humans who are susceptible to coronavirus. Many animals are, too, including some that are endangered, according to a study involving UMass Medical School researchers.
Among the most susceptible are three endangered species: Western lowland gorilla, Sumatran orangutan and Northern white-cheeked gibbon. Common household pets, including dogs and cats, are at lower risk.
Researchers, including Elinor Karlsson, an associate professor of molecular medicine at UMass Medical School in Worcester, studied 410 species of vertebrates, including birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals to determine potential susceptibility to infection. Others found to be at high risk include gray whales and bottlenose dolphins, according to the researchers, who included experts at the University of California Davis. About 40% of the species potentially susceptible are classified as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and may be especially vulnerable to human-to-animal transmission, UMass Medical School said.
“Lots of scientists study humans. A few scientists study a few other species, but for most species we have no information,” Karlsson said in a statement. “The concern is that SARS-CoV-2 might be passed to animals in zoos, or on ecotours, who might be exposed to infected people. This could further stress species that are already endangered or another species could unknowingly act as a virus reservoir and pose a risk to us in the future.”
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