OmniVira

Absence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Natural Environment Exposure in Sheep in Close Contact with Humans.

Sergio Villanueva-Saz1,2,3 Jacobo Giner1,2 Antonio Fernández1,2,3 Delia Lacasta1,3 Aurora Ortín1,3 Juan José Ramos1,3 Luis Miguel Ferrer1,3 Marta Ruiz de Arcaute1,3 Ana Pilar Tobajas3,4 María Dolores Pérez3,4 Maite Verde1,2,3 Diana Marteles1 Ramón Hurtado-Guerrero5,6,7,8 Julián Pardo6,9,10 Llipsy Santiago9 Andrés Manuel González-Ramírez5 Javier Macías-León5 Ana García-García5 Víctor Taleb5 Erandi Lira-Navarrete5 José Ramón Paño-Pardo11 Héctor Ruíz1,3
Affiliations 11 institutions
  1. Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
  2. Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
  3. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2, Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
  4. Department of Animal Production and Sciences of the Food, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
  5. Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Mariano Esquillor s/n, Campus Rio Ebro, Edificio I+D, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
  6. Aragon I+D Foundation (ARAID), 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
  7. Laboratorio de Microscopías Avanzada (LMA), Mariano Esquillor s/n, Campus Rio Ebro, Edificio I+D, Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain.
  8. Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark.
  9. Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
  10. Department of Microbiology, Pediatrics, Radiology and Public Health, Zaragoza University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain.
  11. Infectious Disease Department, University Hospital Lozano Blesa, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain.
PMID34359111 DOI10.3390/ani11071984 Year2021 Journal Animals : an open access journal from MDPI Animals (Basel) Languageeng Statusepublish

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the zoonotic causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has caused a pandemic situation with millions of infected humans worldwide. Among domestic animals, there have been limited studies regarding the transmissibility and exposure to the infection in natural conditions. Some animals are exposed and/or susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as cats, ferrets and dogs. By contrast, there is no information about the susceptibility of ruminants to SARS-CoV-2. This study tested the antibody response in 90 ovine pre-pandemic serum samples and 336 sheep serum samples from the pandemic period (June 2020 to March 2021). In both cases, the animals were in close contact with a veterinary student community composed of more than 700 members. None of the serum samples analyzed was seroreactive based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike antigen. In this sense, no statistical difference was observed compared to the pre-pandemic sheep. Our results suggest that it seems unlikely that sheep could play a relevant role in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is the first study to report the absence of evidence of sheep exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in natural conditions.

Supporting text Virus Host Location
coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) 5 ELISA 28 ruminants 9 SARS-CoV-2 550 serology 50 sheep 39

Evidence records

2 total
Zoonotic Surveillance
2 records · 2 evidence types
Evidence type Serological Evidence
1 records
OVE5049 Serological Evidence
Key finding

Sheep serum samples collected during the COVID-19 pandemic showed no seroreactivity for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies despite close contact with humans.

Virus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Host
sheep Ovis aries Natural host
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

This study tested the antibody response in 90 ovine pre-pandemic serum samples and 336 sheep serum samples from the pandemic period (June 2020 to March 2021). None of the serum samples analyzed was seroreactive based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike antigen.

Method
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike antigen
Sample type
serum
Evidence type Reservoir Ecology
1 records
OVE5050 Reservoir Ecology
Key finding

Sheep are unlikely to play a relevant role in the epidemiology or maintenance of SARS-CoV-2 infection under natural exposure conditions.

Virus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Host
sheep Ovis aries Natural host
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Our results suggest that it seems unlikely that sheep could play a relevant role in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Method
enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
Sample type
serum samples