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FEBRUARY 02, 2022 BY MARC GOZLAN
Pet rabbits naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 in France
French veterinary researchers have, for the first time, demonstrated a natural infection by SARS-CoV-2 in pet rabbits.
This study, led by researchers from the University of Montpellier, was published on January 27, 2022 in the journal Veterinary Sciences . It aimed to determine the seroprevalence of infection with the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 from 144 blood samples from pet rabbits examined between November 2020 and June 2021 in veterinary clinics.
Little is known about rabbit susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. To date, there are only three articles in the literature on the subject. The first study, published in August 2021 in the online journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , conducted on American rabbits experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2, did not reveal a productive infection or the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Two other works, published in December 2021 in the same journal, reported that experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2 was obtained using a relatively high infectious dose. However, a low rate of viral replication was observed. Finally, a Polish study, published in October 2021 in BMC Veterinary Research, reported the absence of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in 29 pet rabbits.
The blood samples collected from the pet rabbits were sent to Montpellier to the “Infectious diseases and vectors, genetic ecology, evolution and control” (Mivegec) laboratory of the Institute for Research and Development (IRD). Serological analyzes aimed at detecting the presence of antibodies directed against SARS-CoV-2 used two recombinant antigens: the receptor binding domain (RBD) and the spike protein trimer (this surface protein of the virus tends to group together with its fellows to form a set composed of three proteins).
Of the 144 blood samples analyzed, the researchers report that one female rabbit carried antibodies against both SARS-CoV-2 antigens and another female rabbit was only positive for RBD. These two rabbits screened positive did not show symptoms suggestive of infection with SARS-CoV-2. The animal positive for two antigens presented a vestibular infection, which is however frequent in rabbits.
The researchers do not know whether or not the owners of the rabbits tested were infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, it is very likely that these animals were contaminated by their owner, as has already been shown for dogs and cats . The blood samples were collected during a period that includes the peaks of the second and third waves of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in France.
Even if the sole detection of antibodies does not mean that there is a productive infection with viral replication, two previous studies have nevertheless shown the existence, after experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2, of an active viral replication in the absence of clinical signs of the disease, underline the authors.
Based on the seropositivity data obtained with respect to one or two antigens, Matthieu Fritz, Eric Leroy and their colleagues estimate that the seroprevalence is between 0.7% and 1.4%. "SARS-CoV-2 infection is rare and appears unlikely to promote the spread of the epidemic to humans or provide a viable reservoir for the virus, at least in the immediate future ," they said. -they. And to conclude that studies on farmed and wild rabbits are also necessary in order to assess the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in these other situations.
According to the authors, the low seroprevalence observed may be due to a low susceptibility of rabbits to SARS-CoV-2 as well as less close contact between these pets and their owners. Indeed, the frequency of contact between a rabbit and humans is much less than that observed with dogs or cats who can lick their hands and face, or even sleep with their owner.
Marc Gozlan (Follow me on Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn )
To know more :
Fritz M, de Riols de Fonclare D, et al. First evidence of natural SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic rabbits . Vet. Science. 2022, 9, 49. doi: 10.3390/vetsci9020049
Bosco-Lauth AM, Walker A, Guilbert L, et al. Susceptibility of livestock to SARS-CoV-2 infection . Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):2199-2201. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2003724
Mykytyn AZ, Lamers MM, Okba NMA, et al. Susceptibility of rabbits to SARS-CoV-2 . Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):1-7. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1868951
Bosco-Lauth AM, Root JJ, Porter SM, et al. Peridomestic Mammal Susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection . Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Aug;27(8):2073-2080. doi: 10.3201/eid2708.210180
Pomorska-Mól M, Turlewicz-Podbielska H, et al. A cross-sectional retrospective study of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in domestic cats, dogs and rabbits in Poland . BMC Vet Res. 2021 Oct 7;17(1):322. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03033-2
https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/realites...v-2-en-france/
FEBRUARY 02, 2022 BY MARC GOZLAN
Pet rabbits naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 in France
French veterinary researchers have, for the first time, demonstrated a natural infection by SARS-CoV-2 in pet rabbits.
This study, led by researchers from the University of Montpellier, was published on January 27, 2022 in the journal Veterinary Sciences . It aimed to determine the seroprevalence of infection with the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19 from 144 blood samples from pet rabbits examined between November 2020 and June 2021 in veterinary clinics.
Little is known about rabbit susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. To date, there are only three articles in the literature on the subject. The first study, published in August 2021 in the online journal Emerging Infectious Diseases , conducted on American rabbits experimentally infected with SARS-CoV-2, did not reveal a productive infection or the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Two other works, published in December 2021 in the same journal, reported that experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2 was obtained using a relatively high infectious dose. However, a low rate of viral replication was observed. Finally, a Polish study, published in October 2021 in BMC Veterinary Research, reported the absence of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies in 29 pet rabbits.
The blood samples collected from the pet rabbits were sent to Montpellier to the “Infectious diseases and vectors, genetic ecology, evolution and control” (Mivegec) laboratory of the Institute for Research and Development (IRD). Serological analyzes aimed at detecting the presence of antibodies directed against SARS-CoV-2 used two recombinant antigens: the receptor binding domain (RBD) and the spike protein trimer (this surface protein of the virus tends to group together with its fellows to form a set composed of three proteins).
Of the 144 blood samples analyzed, the researchers report that one female rabbit carried antibodies against both SARS-CoV-2 antigens and another female rabbit was only positive for RBD. These two rabbits screened positive did not show symptoms suggestive of infection with SARS-CoV-2. The animal positive for two antigens presented a vestibular infection, which is however frequent in rabbits.
The researchers do not know whether or not the owners of the rabbits tested were infected with SARS-CoV-2. However, it is very likely that these animals were contaminated by their owner, as has already been shown for dogs and cats . The blood samples were collected during a period that includes the peaks of the second and third waves of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in France.
Even if the sole detection of antibodies does not mean that there is a productive infection with viral replication, two previous studies have nevertheless shown the existence, after experimental infection with SARS-CoV-2, of an active viral replication in the absence of clinical signs of the disease, underline the authors.
Based on the seropositivity data obtained with respect to one or two antigens, Matthieu Fritz, Eric Leroy and their colleagues estimate that the seroprevalence is between 0.7% and 1.4%. "SARS-CoV-2 infection is rare and appears unlikely to promote the spread of the epidemic to humans or provide a viable reservoir for the virus, at least in the immediate future ," they said. -they. And to conclude that studies on farmed and wild rabbits are also necessary in order to assess the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in these other situations.
According to the authors, the low seroprevalence observed may be due to a low susceptibility of rabbits to SARS-CoV-2 as well as less close contact between these pets and their owners. Indeed, the frequency of contact between a rabbit and humans is much less than that observed with dogs or cats who can lick their hands and face, or even sleep with their owner.
Marc Gozlan (Follow me on Twitter , Facebook , LinkedIn )
To know more :
Fritz M, de Riols de Fonclare D, et al. First evidence of natural SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic rabbits . Vet. Science. 2022, 9, 49. doi: 10.3390/vetsci9020049
Bosco-Lauth AM, Walker A, Guilbert L, et al. Susceptibility of livestock to SARS-CoV-2 infection . Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):2199-2201. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2021.2003724
Mykytyn AZ, Lamers MM, Okba NMA, et al. Susceptibility of rabbits to SARS-CoV-2 . Emerg Microbes Infect. 2021 Dec;10(1):1-7. doi: 10.1080/22221751.2020.1868951
Bosco-Lauth AM, Root JJ, Porter SM, et al. Peridomestic Mammal Susceptibility to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection . Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Aug;27(8):2073-2080. doi: 10.3201/eid2708.210180
Pomorska-Mól M, Turlewicz-Podbielska H, et al. A cross-sectional retrospective study of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in domestic cats, dogs and rabbits in Poland . BMC Vet Res. 2021 Oct 7;17(1):322. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-03033-2
https://www.lemonde.fr/blog/realites...v-2-en-france/