Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in humans in late 2019 and spread rapidly, becoming a global pandemic. A zoonotic spillover event from animal to human was identified as the presumed origin. Subsequently, reports began emerging regarding spillback events resulting...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/16/2554 |
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| author | Margot Ehrlich Christopher Madden Dillon S. McBride Jacqueline M. Nolting Devra Huey Scott Kenney Qiuhong Wang Linda J. Saif Anastasia Vlasova Patricia Dennis Dusty Lombardi Stormy Gibson Alexis McLaine Sarah Lauterbach Page Yaxley Jenessa A. Winston Dubraska Diaz-Campos Risa Pesapane Mark Flint Jaylene Flint Randy Junge Seth A. Faith Andrew S. Bowman Vanessa L. Hale |
| author_facet | Margot Ehrlich Christopher Madden Dillon S. McBride Jacqueline M. Nolting Devra Huey Scott Kenney Qiuhong Wang Linda J. Saif Anastasia Vlasova Patricia Dennis Dusty Lombardi Stormy Gibson Alexis McLaine Sarah Lauterbach Page Yaxley Jenessa A. Winston Dubraska Diaz-Campos Risa Pesapane Mark Flint Jaylene Flint Randy Junge Seth A. Faith Andrew S. Bowman Vanessa L. Hale |
| author_sort | Margot Ehrlich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in humans in late 2019 and spread rapidly, becoming a global pandemic. A zoonotic spillover event from animal to human was identified as the presumed origin. Subsequently, reports began emerging regarding spillback events resulting in SARS-CoV-2 infections in multiple animal species. These events highlighted critical links between animal and human health while also raising concerns about the development of new reservoir hosts and potential viral mutations that could alter the virulence and transmission or evade immune responses. Characterizing susceptibility, prevalence, and transmission between animal species became a priority to help protect animal and human health. In this study, we coalesced a large team of investigators and community partners to surveil for SARS-CoV-2 in domestic and free-ranging animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. We focused on species with known or predicted susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, highly congregated or medically compromised animals (e.g., shelters, barns, veterinary hospitals), and animals that had frequent contact with humans (e.g., pets, agricultural animals, zoo animals, or animals in wildlife hospitals). This included free-ranging deer (<i>n</i> = 76 individuals), free-ranging mink (<i>n</i> = 57), multiple species of bats (<i>n</i> = 59), and other wildlife in addition to domestic cats (<i>n</i> = 275) and pigs (<i>n</i> = 184). In total, we tested 792 individual animals (34 species) via rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was not detected in any of the tested animals despite a major peak in human SARS-CoV-2 cases that occurred in Ohio subsequent to the peak of animal samplings. Importantly, we did not test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in this study, which limited our ability to assess exposure. While the results of this study were negative, the surveillance effort was critical and remains key to understanding, predicting, and preventing the re-emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in humans or animals. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:12:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ed214c551a844dedaff417d8faf9a1f2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T00:12:03Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-ed214c551a844dedaff417d8faf9a1f22023-11-18T23:56:53ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152023-08-011316255410.3390/ani13162554Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021Margot Ehrlich0Christopher Madden1Dillon S. McBride2Jacqueline M. Nolting3Devra Huey4Scott Kenney5Qiuhong Wang6Linda J. Saif7Anastasia Vlasova8Patricia Dennis9Dusty Lombardi10Stormy Gibson11Alexis McLaine12Sarah Lauterbach13Page Yaxley14Jenessa A. Winston15Dubraska Diaz-Campos16Risa Pesapane17Mark Flint18Jaylene Flint19Randy Junge20Seth A. Faith21Andrew S. Bowman22Vanessa L. Hale23College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAOhio Wildlife Center, Powell, OH 43065, USAOhio Wildlife Center, Powell, OH 43065, USAVeterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAColumbus Zoo & Aquarium, Powell, OH 43065, USACenter of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USAVeterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USASevere acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in humans in late 2019 and spread rapidly, becoming a global pandemic. A zoonotic spillover event from animal to human was identified as the presumed origin. Subsequently, reports began emerging regarding spillback events resulting in SARS-CoV-2 infections in multiple animal species. These events highlighted critical links between animal and human health while also raising concerns about the development of new reservoir hosts and potential viral mutations that could alter the virulence and transmission or evade immune responses. Characterizing susceptibility, prevalence, and transmission between animal species became a priority to help protect animal and human health. In this study, we coalesced a large team of investigators and community partners to surveil for SARS-CoV-2 in domestic and free-ranging animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. We focused on species with known or predicted susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, highly congregated or medically compromised animals (e.g., shelters, barns, veterinary hospitals), and animals that had frequent contact with humans (e.g., pets, agricultural animals, zoo animals, or animals in wildlife hospitals). This included free-ranging deer (<i>n</i> = 76 individuals), free-ranging mink (<i>n</i> = 57), multiple species of bats (<i>n</i> = 59), and other wildlife in addition to domestic cats (<i>n</i> = 275) and pigs (<i>n</i> = 184). In total, we tested 792 individual animals (34 species) via rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was not detected in any of the tested animals despite a major peak in human SARS-CoV-2 cases that occurred in Ohio subsequent to the peak of animal samplings. Importantly, we did not test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in this study, which limited our ability to assess exposure. While the results of this study were negative, the surveillance effort was critical and remains key to understanding, predicting, and preventing the re-emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in humans or animals.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/16/2554SARS-CoV-2COVID-19spilloversurveillancewildlifedomestic animals |
| spellingShingle | Margot Ehrlich Christopher Madden Dillon S. McBride Jacqueline M. Nolting Devra Huey Scott Kenney Qiuhong Wang Linda J. Saif Anastasia Vlasova Patricia Dennis Dusty Lombardi Stormy Gibson Alexis McLaine Sarah Lauterbach Page Yaxley Jenessa A. Winston Dubraska Diaz-Campos Risa Pesapane Mark Flint Jaylene Flint Randy Junge Seth A. Faith Andrew S. Bowman Vanessa L. Hale Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021 Animals SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 spillover surveillance wildlife domestic animals |
| title | Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021 |
| title_full | Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021 |
| title_fullStr | Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021 |
| title_short | Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021 |
| title_sort | lack of sars cov 2 viral rna detection among a convenience sampling of ohio wildlife companion and agricultural animals 2020 2021 |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 spillover surveillance wildlife domestic animals |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/13/16/2554 |
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