The current COVID-19 global pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) of probable bat origin, has highlighted the ongoing need for a One Health response to emerging zoonotic disease events. Understanding How to cite this article: Hobbs EC, Reid TJ. Animals and SARS-CoV-2: Species susceptibility and viral transmission in experimental and natural conditions, and the potential implications for community transmission.

The COVIPENDIUM was an initiative of the Institute for the Future of the Rega Institute (KU Leuven, Belgium). It was created at the start of the COVID-19 epidemic in February 2020, as a living paper on the new coronavirus disease. The project aimed at providing a structured compilation of available scientific data about the virus, the disease and its control. Its objective was to help scientists identify the most relevant publications on COVID-19 in the wealth of information published every day.The COVIPENDIUM was also expected to foster a global understanding of disease control and stimulate transdisciplinary initiatives. To this end, special attention was given to the development of a broad table of contents, addressing the widest spectrum of publications related to the disease and its consequences.This living paper has been updated on a weekly basis until mid-September. Due to the huge amount of information published by that time, it had become more and more difficult to maintain the COVIPENDIUM up-to-date. The authors therefore decided to put an end to this initiative. The latest version of the document, dated October 20, is meant to provide to the reader the information gathered over the 9-month period of the project, and illustrate the benefits of organizing available information using both a living paper approach and a wide multi-disciplinary dimension.

The current COVID-19 global pandemic, caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) of probable bat origin, has highlighted the ongoing need for a One Health response to emerging zoonotic disease events, which are significantly increasing over time. Understanding the human-animal interface and its relevance to disease transmission remains a critical control point for many emerging zoonoses. Determination of the susceptibility of various animal species to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and the role of animals in the epidemiology of the disease will be critical to informing appropriate human and veterinary public health responses to this pandemic. A scoping literature review was conducted to collect, evaluate and present the available research evidence regarding SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals. Experimental studies have successfully demonstrated SARS-CoV-2 infection and transmission in cats, ferrets, hamsters, bats and non-human primates under experimental settings. Dogs appear to have limited susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, while other domestic species including pigs and poultry do not appear susceptible. Naturally occurring SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals appear uncommon, with 14 pets, 8 captive big cats and an unreported number of farmed mink testing positive to date. Infections typically appear asymptomatic in dogs, while clinical signs of respiratory and/or gastrointestinal disease tend to be mild to moderate in felines, and severe to fatal in mink. Most animal cases have been infected by close contact with COVID-19 patients. In domestic settings, viral transmission is self-limiting, however in high density animal environments there can be sustained between-animal transmission. To date, two potential cases of animal-to-human transmission are being investigated, on infected mink farms. Given the millions of COVID-19 cases worldwide and ongoing potential for further zoonotic and anthroponotic viral transmission, further research and surveillance activities are needed to definitively determine the role of animals in community transmission of SARS-CoV-2.

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