tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Transbound Emerg Dis
. 2022 Jun 13.
doi: 10.1111/tbed.14625. Online ahead of print.
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 clade B.1.2 in three snow leopards
Leyi Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Zoltan S Gyimesi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mary Lea Killian[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mia Torchetti[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Colleen Olmstead[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Richard Fredrickson[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Karen A Terio[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is one of seven coronaviruses known to infect humans. Different from other concerned coronavirus and influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2 has a higher basic reproduction number and thus transmits more efficiently among hosts. Testing animals for SARS-CoV-2 may help decipher virus reservoirs, transmission and pathogenesis. Here, we report the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 in three snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in a zoo in Kentucky in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Sequence analysis revealed that snow leopard SARS-CoV-2 strains were non-variant B.1.2 lineage and closely correlated with human strains. One snow leopard shed SARS-CoV-2 in feces up to four weeks. Based on clinical signs and viral shedding periods and levels in the three snow leopards, animal-to-animal transmission events could not be excluded. Further testing of SARS-CoV-2 in animals is needed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Panthera uncia; SARS-CoV-2; detection; snow leopard; viral shedding.
. 2022 Jun 13.
doi: 10.1111/tbed.14625. Online ahead of print.
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 clade B.1.2 in three snow leopards
Leyi Wang[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Zoltan S Gyimesi[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Mary Lea Killian[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Mia Torchetti[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Colleen Olmstead[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Richard Fredrickson[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Karen A Terio[SUP] 4 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 35698174
- DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14625
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is one of seven coronaviruses known to infect humans. Different from other concerned coronavirus and influenza viruses, SARS-CoV-2 has a higher basic reproduction number and thus transmits more efficiently among hosts. Testing animals for SARS-CoV-2 may help decipher virus reservoirs, transmission and pathogenesis. Here, we report the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 in three snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in a zoo in Kentucky in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. Sequence analysis revealed that snow leopard SARS-CoV-2 strains were non-variant B.1.2 lineage and closely correlated with human strains. One snow leopard shed SARS-CoV-2 in feces up to four weeks. Based on clinical signs and viral shedding periods and levels in the three snow leopards, animal-to-animal transmission events could not be excluded. Further testing of SARS-CoV-2 in animals is needed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Panthera uncia; SARS-CoV-2; detection; snow leopard; viral shedding.