We report an incidence of natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging Indian leopard (<i>Panthera pardus fusca</i>). The case was detected during routine screening. Post-mortem and laboratory examination suggested virus-induced interstitial pneumonia. Viral genome could be detected in various organs including brain, lung, spleen, and lymph nodes by real-time PCR. Whole-genome sequence analysis confirmed infection of Pango lineage B.1.617.2 of SARS-CoV-2. Till now, only Asiatic lions have been reported to be infected by SARS-CoV-2 in India. Infections in animals were detected during peak phase of pandemic and all the cases were captive with close contacts with humans, whereas the present case was observed when human cases were significantly low. No tangible evidence linked to widespread infection in the wild population and the incidence seems to be isolated case. High nucleotide sequence homology with prevailing viruses in humans suggested spillover infection to the animal. This report underlines the need for intensive screening of wild animals for keeping track of the virus evolution and development of carrier status of SARS-CoV-2 among wildlife species. The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10344-022-01608-4.
Whole-genome sequencing showed the leopard SARS-CoV-2 virus belonged to the human-associated lineage B.1.617.2 and was highly similar to contemporary human strains, supporting a recent zoonotic transmission.
Whole-genome sequence analysis confirmed infection of Pango lineage B.1.617.2 of SARS-CoV-2. High nucleotide sequence homology with prevailing viruses in humans suggested spillover infection to the animal.
A free-ranging Indian leopard was naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2, and genomic similarity with human viruses indicates a human-to-animal spillback event.
High nucleotide sequence homology with prevailing viruses in humans suggested spillover infection to the animal. We report an incidence of natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging Indian leopard.
Method
PCR; whole-genome sequencing
Study design
field surveillance
Transmission direction
human-to-animal
Geographic raw
India
Country inferred
India
Zoonotic Surveillance1 records
Zoonotic SurveillanceExtraction confidence 0.85
Key finding
SARS-CoV-2 infection was identified in a free-ranging leopard in India through routine screening as part of wildlife surveillance.
We report an incidence of natural infection of SARS-CoV-2 in free-ranging Indian leopard (Panthera pardus fusca). The case was detected during routine screening.
Method
real-time PCR; whole-genome sequence analysis
Sample type
brain; lung; spleen; lymph nodes
Geographic raw
India
Country inferred
India
Citation context
References
17 references
Reference network
Force-directed citation graph. OmniVira-indexed references are prioritized and recursively expanded up to three steps.
Animals and SARS-CoV-2: species susceptibility and viral transmission in experimental and natural conditions, and the potential implications for community transmission
Olfactory transmucosal SARS-CoV-2 invasion as a port of central nervous system entry in individuals with COVID-19 Nat Neurosci 24(2):168-175. 10.1038/s41593-020-00758-5
Sensitive and specific immunohistochemistry protocol for nucleocapsid protein from all common SARS-CoV-2 virus strains in formalin-fixed, paraffin embedded tissues. Methods Protoc 10;4(3):47. 10.3390/mps4030047
