Mumbai, March 7

As the world enters the third year of the pandemic, countries have been urged to take steps to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from humans to wildlife, with the aim of reducing the risk of variants emerging and to protect both humans and wildlife.

The joint call from three international agencies – the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) and the World Health Organization – comes even as the global death toll from Covid-19 stands poised to cross the six million mark.

“Current knowledge indicates that wildlife does not play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in humans, but its spread in animal populations can affect the health of these populations and may facilitate the emergence of new virus variants,” the note said.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is spreading between people at an intense level globally, the note said. And one of the factors driving transmission is the emergence of highly transmissible variants of concern, the latest being Omicron. “The virus continues to evolve and the risk of future emergence of variants is high,” the note said.

“The introduction of SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife could result in the establishment of animal reservoirs. For example, it has been reported that approximately one-third of wild white-tailed deer in the US have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, initially via several human-to-deer transmission events,” the note said.

Outlining measures that countries can take, the agencies called for the monitoring of wildlife and sampling of wild animals known to be potentially susceptible to SARS-CoV-2; the sharing of all genetic sequence data from animal surveillance studies through publicly available databases and the suspension and sale of captured live wild mammals in food markets, among others.

Educate on wild-life contact

Calling for the public to be educated about contact with wildlife, the note said, “Some wild animals may come close to human settlements and residential areas. As a general precaution, people should not approach or feed wild animals or touch or eat those that are orphaned, sick or found dead (including road kills). Instead, they should contact local wildlife authorities or a wildlife health professional.”

They highlighted the importance in safely disposing uneaten food, masks, tissues, and any other human waste to avoid attracting wildlife, especially in urban areas. Domestic animals should also be kept away form wildlife and their droppings, the organisations said.