OmniVira

Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020-2021.

Margot Ehrlich1 Christopher Madden2 Dillon S McBride2 Jacqueline M Nolting2 Devra Huey2 Scott Kenney2,3 Qiuhong Wang2,3 Linda J Saif2,3 Anastasia Vlasova2,3 Patricia Dennis2,4,5 Dusty Lombardi6 Stormy Gibson6 Alexis McLaine7 Sarah Lauterbach2 Page Yaxley7 Jenessa A Winston7,8 Dubraska Diaz-Campos7 Risa Pesapane2,9 Mark Flint2 Jaylene Flint2 Randy Junge10 Seth A Faith8,11 Andrew S Bowman2 Vanessa L Hale2,8,11
Affiliations 11 institutions
  1. College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  2. Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  3. Center for Food Animal Health, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Wooster, OH 44691, USA.
  4. Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Cleveland, OH 44109, USA.
  5. Cleveland Metroparks, Cleveland, OH 44144, USA.
  6. Ohio Wildlife Center, Powell, OH 43065, USA.
  7. Veterinary Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  8. Center of Microbiome Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  9. School of Environment and Natural Resources, College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
  10. Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Powell, OH 43065, USA.
  11. Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
PMID37627345 DOI10.3390/ani13162554 Year2023 Journal Animals : an open access journal from MDPI Animals (Basel) Languageeng Publication statusActive
Active Last checked 2026-10-02 03:30:39 Source: NCBI PubMed

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in humans in late 2019 and spread rapidly, becoming a global pandemic. A zoonotic spillover event from animal to human was identified as the presumed origin. Subsequently, reports began emerging regarding spillback events resulting in SARS-CoV-2 infections in multiple animal species. These events highlighted critical links between animal and human health while also raising concerns about the development of new reservoir hosts and potential viral mutations that could alter the virulence and transmission or evade immune responses. Characterizing susceptibility, prevalence, and transmission between animal species became a priority to help protect animal and human health. In this study, we coalesced a large team of investigators and community partners to surveil for SARS-CoV-2 in domestic and free-ranging animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. We focused on species with known or predicted susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, highly congregated or medically compromised animals (e.g., shelters, barns, veterinary hospitals), and animals that had frequent contact with humans (e.g., pets, agricultural animals, zoo animals, or animals in wildlife hospitals). This included free-ranging deer (n = 76 individuals), free-ranging mink (n = 57), multiple species of bats (n = 59), and other wildlife in addition to domestic cats (n = 275) and pigs (n = 184). In total, we tested 792 individual animals (34 species) via rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was not detected in any of the tested animals despite a major peak in human SARS-CoV-2 cases that occurred in Ohio subsequent to the peak of animal samplings. Importantly, we did not test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in this study, which limited our ability to assess exposure. While the results of this study were negative, the surveillance effort was critical and remains key to understanding, predicting, and preventing the re-emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in humans or animals.

Supporting text Virus Host Location
agricultural animals 1 COVID-19 470 domestic animals 6 SARS-CoV-2 556 spillover 109 surveillance 66 wildlife 51

Evidence records

1 total
Zoonotic Surveillance
1 records · 1 evidence types
Evidence type Viral Detection
1 records
OVE7271 Viral Detection
Key finding

No SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detected by rRT-PCR in animals sampled from Ohio during 2020–2021.

Virus
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2
Host
deer Cervidae Natural host American mink Neogale vison Natural host bats Chiroptera Natural host domestic cat Felis catus Natural host pig Sus scrofa Natural host
Location
United States
Supporting text

In this study, we coalesced a large team of investigators and community partners to surveil for SARS-CoV-2 in domestic and free-ranging animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. In total, we tested 792 individual animals (34 species) via rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was not detected in any of the tested animals despite a major peak in human SARS-CoV-2 cases that occurred in Ohio subsequent to the peak of animal samplings.

Method
rRT-PCR
Sample type
animal samples
Geographic raw
Ohio
Country inferred
USA