Unraveling the Zoonotic Origin and Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Arinjay Banerjee; Andrew C Doxey; Karen Mossman; Aaron T Irving

doi:10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.002

Unraveling the Zoonotic Origin and Transmission of SARS-CoV-2

Trends Ecol Evol. 2021 Mar;36(3):180-184. doi: 10.1016/j.tree.2020.12.002. Epub 2020 Dec 13.

Authors

Arinjay Banerjee¹, Andrew C Doxey², Karen Mossman³, Aaron T Irving⁴

Affiliations

¹ Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada; Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada. Electronic address: banera9@mcmaster.ca.
² Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1, Canada.
³ Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, McMaster Immunology Research Centre, Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4L8, Canada.
⁴ Zhejiang University-University of Edinburgh Institute, Haining, Zhejiang 314400, China; Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: aaronirving@intl.zju.edu.cn.

Abstract

The origin and zoonotic transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 remain speculative. We discuss scenarios for the zoonotic emergence of SARS-CoV-2, and also explore the missing evidence and ecological considerations that are necessary to confidently identify the origin and transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 and to prevent future pandemics of zoonotic viruses.

MeSH terms

Animals
COVID-19*
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2*
Zoonoses / epidemiology