OmniVira

Literature detail

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain, 2019-2023.

Jacobo Giner1,2,3 María Eugenia Lebrero2 Michele Trotta1 Pablo Rueda1 Laura Vilalta4 Maite Verde1,2,3 Ramón Hurtado-Guerrero5,6 Julián Pardo7,8,9 Delia Lacasta2,3 Llipsy Santiago7,9 Maykel Arias7,9 Natacha Peña-Fresneda7 Andrés Montesinos10,11 María D Pérez3,12 Antonio Fernández1,2,3 Sergio Villanueva-Saz13,14,15
Affiliations 15 institutions
  1. Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
  2. Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
  3. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Zaragoza, Spain.
  4. Hospital Veterinari Canis, Girona, Spain.
  5. Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Edificio I+D, Campus Rio Ebro, Zaragoza, Spain.
  6. Aragon I+D Foundation (ARAID), Zaragoza, Spain.
  7. Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), Zaragoza, Spain.
  8. Department of Microbiology, Pediatrics, Radiology and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
  9. CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
  10. Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Univerisdad Complutense Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
  11. Hospital Veterinario de Animales Exoticos Los Suaces, Madrid, Spain.
  12. Department of Animal Production and Sciences of the Food, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
  13. Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain. [email protected].
  14. Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. [email protected].
  15. Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Zaragoza, Spain. [email protected].
PMID 37548874 2024 Vet Res Commun eng ppublish
PubMed DOI Browse context

Article

Publication summary

SARS-CoV-2 is the causal agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans that emerged in late 2019. This virus is able to infect humans and different animal species. Among pets, cats and ferrets are more susceptible to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2. Epidemiological studies are an important tool to provide information under natural conditions of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. In comparison to cats, limited epidemiological studies have been performed in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) reporting the presence of antibodies in this species. This study analysed the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 432 cliend-owned ferrets from different geographical areas of Spain during the different waves of COVID-19 outbreaks from December 2019 to May 2023 (42 months). For this purpose, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent method (ELISA) using the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Spike antigen and confirmed by serum virus neutralization assay. Eighteen of the 432 ferrets included were seroreactive by the in-house ELISA (4.17%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.65-6.49). In this sense, the wave of COVID-19 with the higher number of seropositive ferrets occurred during the seventh wave when the different Omicron subvariants were the dominant virus variants. Our results suggest that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in domestic ferrets in natural conditions is low. Further research is need to evaluate the potential risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from human to pets.

ELISA Ferret SARS-CoV-2 Serology Spain VNT COVID-19 Ferrets Animals Antibodies, Viral Humans SARS-CoV-2 Seroepidemiologic Studies Spain

Structured evidence records

Evidence records

2 total
Serological Evidence 1 records
Serological Evidence Extraction confidence 1.00
Key finding

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected in 4.17% of domestic ferrets in Spain using ELISA and confirmed by neutralization assay, indicating exposure to SARS-CoV-2.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

This study analysed the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 432 client-owned ferrets from Spain. Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected by ELISA using the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Spike antigen and confirmed by serum virus neutralization assay. Eighteen of the 432 ferrets included were seroreactive by the in-house ELISA (4.17%).

Method
ELISA; serum virus neutralization assay
Sample type
serum
Spillover Event 1 records
Spillover Event Extraction confidence 0.80
Key finding

Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies detected in household domestic ferrets in Spain provide evidence of human-to-ferret spillback infection under natural exposure conditions.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Spain Spain
Supporting text

Eighteen of the 432 ferrets included were seroreactive by the in-house ELISA (4.17%, 95% CI: 2.65-6.49)... Our results suggest that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in domestic ferrets in natural conditions is low. Further research is need to evaluate the potential risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from human to pets.

Method
ELISA; serum virus neutralization assay
Study design
serological survey
Transmission direction
human-to-animal
Geographic raw
Spain
Country inferred
Spain