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. 2024 Sep;71(6):744-747.
doi: 10.1111/zph.13162. Epub 2024 Jun 9.

Absence of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife of northeastern Minnesota and Isle Royale National Park

David Castañeda  1 , Edmund J Isaac  2 , Benjamin P Schnieders  1 , Todd Kautz  2 , Mark C Romanski  3 , Seth A Moore  2 , Matthew T Aliota  1
Affiliations

Absence of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife of northeastern Minnesota and Isle Royale National Park

David Castañeda et al. Zoonoses Public Health. 2024 Sep.

Abstract

Aims: We investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging wildlife populations in Northeastern Minnesota on the Grand Portage Indian Reservation and Isle Royale National Park.

Methods and results: One hundred twenty nasal samples were collected from white-tailed deer, moose, grey wolves and black bears monitored for conservation efforts during 2022-2023. Samples were tested for viral RNA by RT-qPCR using the CDC N1/N2 primer set. Our data indicate that no wildlife samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Conclusions: Continued surveillance is therefore crucial to better understand the changing landscape of zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 in the Upper Midwest.

Keywords: COVID‐19; SARS‐CoV‐2; bear; coronavirus; deer; moose; wildlife; wolf; zoonoses.

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References

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