About:

This team aims to assess the potential risk of reverse-zoonotic transmission to Antarctic wildlife and to determine how the expected reduction of human activity in Antarctica due to COVID-19 can affect Antarctic wildlife.

Research questions:

1. What is the risk of introducing SARS-CoV-2 to Antarctica?
2. What is the stability and infectivity of the virus in the Antarctic environment?
3. How susceptible is Antarctic wildlife to SARS-CoV-2?

Researchers:

Andres Barbosa (Co-Lead)
Meagan Dewar (Co-Lead)

Outputs:

Barbosa, A., Varsani, A., Morandini, V., Grimaldi, W., Vanstreels, R.E.T., Diaz, J., Boulinier, T., Dewar, M., González-Acuña, D., Gray, R., McMahon, C.R., Miller, G., Power, M., Gamble, A., Wille, M. (2020). Risk Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 in Antarctic Wildlife. Science of the Total Environment (accepted). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143352

SCAR EG-BAMM webinar: Polar Wildlife Health