Susceptibility of livestock to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Bosco‐Lauth, Angela M.; Walker, Audrey E; Guilbert, Lauren; Porter, Stephanie M.; Hartwig, Airn E.; McVicker, Emma; Bielefeldt‐Ohmann, Helle; Bowen, Richard A.

doi:10.1080/22221751.2021.2003724

Cited by 47 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(11 reference statements)

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“…A recent study evaluating nasal and nasopharyngeal swabs and feces from 34 healthy Italian Trotters with recent contact with SARS-CoV-2 breeders showed no detection of SARS-CoV-2 by qPCR [ 20 ]. Another study evaluating the susceptibility of common domestic livestock showed no clinical disease, no nasal and fecal viral shedding determined by qPCR and no virus isolation from respiratory tissues in a single horse following intranasal administration of 6.3 log 10 plaque-forming units SARS-CoV-2 virus strain 2019-nCoV/USA-WA1/2020 [ 21 ]. The reason for negative SARS-CoV-2 qPCR results in the present study population may relate to the lack of disease expression in equids, similar to other domestic animals [ 6 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Role of Healthy and Sick Equids in the COVID-19 Pandemic through Serological and Molecular Testing

Lawton

Arthur

Moeller

et al. 2022

Animals

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More and more studies are reporting on the natural transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between humans with COVID-19 and their companion animals (dogs and cats). While horses are apparently susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the homology between the human and the equine ACE-2 receptor, no clinical or subclinical infection has yet been reported in the equine species. To investigate the possible clinical role of SARS-CoV-2 in equids, nasal secretions from 667 horses with acute onset of fever and respiratory signs were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by qPCR. The samples were collected from January to December of 2020 and submitted to a commercial molecular diagnostic laboratory for the detection of common respiratory pathogens (equine influenza virus, equine herpesvirus-1/-4, equine rhinitis A and B virus, Streptococcus equi subspecies equi). An additional 633 serum samples were tested for antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 using an ELISA targeting the receptor-binding domain of the spike protein. The serum samples were collected from a cohort of 587 healthy racing Thoroughbreds in California after track personnel tested qPCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2. While 241/667 (36%) equids with fever and respiratory signs tested qPCR-positive for at least one of the common respiratory pathogens, not a single horse tested qPCR-positive for SARS-CoV-2. Amongst the racing Thoroughbreds, 35/587 (5.9%) horses had detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. Similar to dogs and cats, horses do not seem to develop clinical SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, horses can act as incidental hosts and experience silent infection following spillover from humans with COVID-19. SARS-CoV-2-infected humans should avoid close contact with equids during the time of their illness.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation of the Role of Healthy and Sick Equids in the COVID-19 Pandemic through Serological and Molecular Testing

Lawton

Arthur

Moeller

et al. 2022

Animals

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“…Without the detection and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 from the horse, the source of infection remains speculative; however, the close temporal association between the COVID-19 individual and the antibody response of the horse suggest direct transmission from human to animal. While a previous attempt to experimentally infect a single horse with SARS-CoV-2 (virus strain 2019-nCoV/USA-WA1/2020) failed, it is possible that certain human-adapted variants are more likely to replicate in equids [ 7 ]. It will be interesting to determine if new variants (e.g., Omicron variant), known to have an increased rate of virus transmission, will be more likely to induce silent infection in equids [ 18 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A recent study aimed at determining functional and genetic analysis of viral receptor ACE-2 orthologs showed that ACE-2 orthologs from 44 species, including horses, could bind the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and support viral entry [ 6 ]. Experimental infection of a single adult horse using intranasally administered ancestral SARS-CoV-2 yielded no molecular detection of SARS-CoV-2 in nasal secretions or feces and no virus isolation from respiratory tissues [ 7 ]. These results are in line with previous experimental studies in horses using the closely related MERS-CoV, showing a lack of immune response and no viral RNA detected in the upper respiratory tract [ 8 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 Seroconversion in an Adult Horse with Direct Contact to a COVID-19 Individual

Pusterla

Chaillon

Ignacio

et al. 2022

Viruses

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The authors report on a possible direct exposure to SARS-CoV-2 from a COVID-19-positive individual to an adult horse. The individual, diagnosed with COVID-19 (Delta B.1.617.2), had daily contact to her two horses prior to and during the development of clinical disease. None of the two horses developed abnormal clinical signs or had detectable SARS-CoV-2 in blood, nasal secretion, or feces via RT-qPCR. However, one of the two horses showed close temporal seroconversion to SARS-CoV-2 using a protein-based ELISA and the plaque reduction neutralization test. The results suggest that horses can become silently infected with SARS-CoV-2 following close contact with humans infected with SARS-CoV-2. As a precautionary measure, humans infected with SARS-CoV-2 should avoid close contact with equids and other companion animals during the time of their illness to prevent viral transmission.

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“…Natural SARS-CoV-2 infections linked to human exposure have been reported in American mink, ferrets, felines, canines and primates [34]. For domestic ruminants such as cattle, goat and sheep a very low susceptibly was demonstrated during experimental infection studies [35][36][37], and natural infections of cattle also seem to be a rare event [38]. However, SARS-CoV-2 or specific antibodies were detected frequently in freeranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in North America [29][30][31], but it remains unclear how these deer acquired the virus from humans.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological screening in wild ruminants in Germany, 2021/22: No evidence of SARS-CoV-2, bluetongue virus or pestivirus spread but high seroprevalences against Schmallenberg virus

Wernike

Fischer²,

Holsteg³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Wildlife animals may be susceptible for multiple infectious agents of public health or veterinary relevance, thereby potentially forming a reservoir that bears the constant risk of re-introduction into the human or livestock population. Here, we serologically investigated 493 wild ruminant samples collected in the 2021/22 hunting season in Germany for the presence of antibodies against the severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and four viruses pathogenic for domestic ruminants, namely the orthobunyavirus Schmallenberg virus (SBV), the reovirus bluetongue virus (BTV) and ruminant pestiviruses like bovine viral diarrhoea virus or border disease virus. The animal species comprised fallow deer, red deer, roe deer, mouflon and wisent. For coronavirus serology, additional 307 fallow, roe and red deer samples collected between 2017 and 2020 at three military training areas were included. While antibodies against SBV could be detected in about 13.6% of the samples collected in 2021/22, only one fallow deer of unknown age tested positive for anti-BTV antibodies and all samples reacted negative for antibodies against ruminant pestiviruses. In an ELISA based on the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV-2, 25 out of 493 (5.1%) samples collected in autumn and winter 2021/22 scored positive. This sero-reactivity could not be confirmed by the highly specific virus neutralization test, occurred also in 2017, 2018 and 2019, i.e. prior to the human SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and was likewise observed against the RBD of the related SARS-CoV-1. Therefore, the SARS-CoV-2-seroreactivity was most likely induced by another, hitherto unknown deer virus belonging to the subgenus Sarbecovirus of betacoronaviruses.

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Susceptibility of livestock to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Cited by 47 publications

References 16 publications

Investigation of the Role of Healthy and Sick Equids in the COVID-19 Pandemic through Serological and Molecular Testing

Investigation of the Role of Healthy and Sick Equids in the COVID-19 Pandemic through Serological and Molecular Testing

SARS-CoV-2 Seroconversion in an Adult Horse with Direct Contact to a COVID-19 Individual

Serological screening in wild ruminants in Germany, 2021/22: No evidence of SARS-CoV-2, bluetongue virus or pestivirus spread but high seroprevalences against Schmallenberg virus

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