Covipendium: Information available to support the development of medical countermeasures and interventions against COVID-19

Abstract

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.

Animals and SARS‐CoV‐2: Species susceptibility and viral transmission in experimental and natural conditions, and the potential implications for community transmission

“…An experimental study by Lu et al ( 2020 ) determined that that rhesus macaques ( Macaca mulatta ) were the most susceptible to SARS‐CoV‐2 infection, followed by cynomolgus or crab‐eating macaques ( Macaca fascicularis ) and lastly common marmosets ( Callithrix jacchus) . SARS‐CoV‐2 was detected in nasal, throat and anal swabs as well as blood from all three monkey species, with viral shedding from the upper respiratory tract peaking between 6 and 8 dpi (Denis et al., 2020 ).…”

Animals and SARS-CoV-2: Species susceptibility and viral transmission in experimental and natural conditions, and the potential implications for community transmission.

“…Of most note is the lack of positive ELISA results among 15 pet and 99 street dogs from Wuhan (Deng et al, 2020). Otherwise, there is very limited information presented regarding the animal populations from which the samples were derived, and so very little inference can be made from this paper (Denis et al, 2020;Weese, 2020).…”

“…On the second farm, the family dog was also reported to be positive for SARS-CoV-2 (MoF, 2020b). Entry and egress restrictions were placed on the mink farms while testing was being completed, and normal hygiene protocols for visitors to mink farms (including washing hands and changing clothes before and after animal handling) are still in force (Denis et al, 2020). The Danish government decreed that the infected farms will be depopulated in the interest of public health, and from 24 th June implemented mandatory reporting of suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections in Danish fur farms, and issued regulations for sampling and testing of fur animals (mink and ferrets), safe handling of feed and manure, and the quarantining, depopulation and disinfection of the infected premises (Larsen & Zuferov, 2020).…”

“…Specimens were also tested in parallel with three assays from the CDC and all samples tested negative (Brulliard, 2020;IDEXX, 2020a;ProMED-mail, 2020b). These results have been reported on IDEXX's website and have not been peer-reviewed, nor has a manuscript been released (Denis et al, 2020). Detailed metadata regarding sample type and location are not available.…”

“…Prior to 9 th February, the China Animal Health Epidemiology Center reportedly tested over 4,800 archived animal samples (including from poultry, cat, dogs and pigs) that had been collected in 2019 from numerous locations around China, all with negative results (OIE, 2020e;ProMED-mail, 2020a). There is no indication that these samples included animals known or suspected to have had contact with COVID-19 patients (Denis et al, 2020;ProMED-mail, 2020a). Further reports exist that 'animals from fur farms (including mink, foxes, raccoon dogs) have been tested for SARS-CoV-2 by RT-PCR.…”