Literature detail

Molecular and Serological Survey of SARS-CoV-2 in Murid Rodents From Central Chile.

Catalina Grisolia¹ Gabriela Muñoz² Rodrigo Salgado¹ Cristian Herrera¹ Victor Neira² André V Rubio¹

Affiliations 2 institutions

Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas Animales, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Departamento de Medicina Preventiva Animal, Facultad de Ciencias Veterinarias y Pecuarias, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.

PMID 40289481 2025 Zoonoses Public Health eng ppublish

Article

Publication summary

The potential role of rodents as reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2 has gained global attention due to their proximity to humans and their involvement in zoonotic disease transmission. Rodents were sampled from urban, rural and natural areas across the Metropolitan Region of Chile between June 2023 and June 2024. Molecular testing (RT-qPCR) revealed no active infections among the 421 analysed individuals, while serological assays (ELISA) detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 4 of 459 rodents (0.87%). All seropositive rodents were Rattus rattus captured in rural areas. These findings suggest localised exposure to SARS-CoV-2, possibly influenced by environmental or anthropogenic factors. The results align with global studies reporting sporadic rodent exposure to SARS-CoV-2, emphasising the importance of integrating molecular and serological approaches in zoonotic surveillance. Despite the low prevalence observed, the potential role of rodents in viral spillover and recombination events with other coronaviruses underscores the need for continued monitoring. These results contribute to understanding zoonotic dynamics and inform public health strategies in a One Health framework.

coronaviruses rodentia SARS‐CoV‐2 wildlife COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 Animals Antibodies, Viral Chile Disease Reservoirs Humans Rats Rodent Diseases Rodentia Seroepidemiologic Studies Zoonoses

Structured evidence records

Evidence records

2 total

Serological Evidence 1 records

Serological Evidence Extraction confidence 1.00

Key finding

Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were detected by ELISA in 4 of 459 Rattus rattus rodents from rural areas of central Chile, indicating prior exposure.

Virus

Host

Location

Supporting text

Serological assays (ELISA) detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 4 of 459 rodents (0.87%). All seropositive rodents were Rattus rattus captured in rural areas.

Method: ELISA
Sample type: serum

Zoonotic Surveillance 1 records

Zoonotic Surveillance Extraction confidence 1.00

Key finding

Serological surveillance found SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 4 of 459 Rattus rattus rodents sampled in rural areas of central Chile, while molecular testing revealed no active infections.

Virus

Host

Location

Supporting text

Rodents were sampled from urban, rural and natural areas across the Metropolitan Region of Chile between June 2023 and June 2024. Molecular testing (RT-qPCR) revealed no active infections among the 421 analysed individuals, while serological assays (ELISA) detected SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 4 of 459 rodents (0.87%). All seropositive rodents were Rattus rattus captured in rural areas.

Method: RT-qPCR; ELISA
Sample type: blood
Geographic raw: Metropolitan Region of Chile
Country inferred: Chile

Citation context

References

35 references

Reference network

Force-directed citation graph. OmniVira-indexed references are prioritized and recursively expanded up to three steps.

36 nodes · 35 links

Drag nodes to explore citation neighborhoods


-	2022. “Serologic Surveillance for SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection Among Wild Rodents, Europe.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 28, no. 12: 2577–2580	Bourret	2022
-	2020. “Molecular Diagnosis of a Novel Coronavirus (2019‐nCoV) Causing an Outbreak of Pneumonia.” Clinical Chemistry 66, no. 4: 549–555	Chu	2019
-	2022. “SARS‐CoV‐2 Surveillance in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) From Antwerp Sewer System, Belgium.” Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 69, no. 5: 3016–3021	Colombo	2022
-	2023. “Development of a Multispecies Double‐Antigen Sandwich ELISA Using N and RBD Proteins to Detect Antibodies Against SARS‐CoV‐2.” Animals 13, no. 22: 3487	Cordero‐Ortiz	2023
-	2020. “Broad Host Range of SARS‐Cov‐2 Predicted by Comparative and Structural Analysis of ACE2 in Vertebrates.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 117, no. 36: 22311–22322	Damas	2020
-	2023. “Increased Rat‐Borne Zoonotic Disease Hazard in Greener Urban Areas.” Science of the Total Environment 896: 165069	de Cock	2023
-	, and A	Decaro	2020
-	2023. “Survey of White‐Footed Mice (Peromyscus leucopus) in Connecticut, USA Reveals Low SARS‐CoV‐2 Seroprevalence and Infection With Divergent Betacoronaviruses.” Npj Viruses 1, no. 1: 1–12	Earnest	2023
-	2021. “SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection, Neuropathogenesis and Transmission Among Deer Mice: Implications for Spillback to New World Rodents.” PLoS Pathogens 17, no. 5: e1009585	Fagre	2021
-	2023. “The Ecology of Viruses in Urban Rodents With a Focus on SARS‐CoV‐2.” Emerging Microbes & Infections 12, no. 1: 2217940	Fisher	2023
-	2021. “SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection and Transmission in the North American Deer Mouse.” Nature Communications 12, no. 1: 3612	Griffin	2021
-	A., A. M. Kramer, and J. M	Han	2016
-	2023. “Sensitivity and Performance of Three Novel Quantitative SARS‐CoV‐2 Nucleoprotein Blood Assays.” Scientific Reports 13, no. 1: 2868	Hillig	2023
-	2024	Instituto de Salud Pública de Chile [ISP	2024
-	2021. “Production of SARS‐CoV‐2 N Protein‐Specific Monoclonal Antibody and Its Application in an ELISA‐Based Detection System and Targeting the Interaction Between the Spike C‐Terminal Domain and N Protein.” Frontiers in Microbiology 12: 726231	Kim	2021
-	Cornelissen, M. Dreher, M. W. Hornef, M. Imöhl, and M	Krüttgen	2020
-	2023. “Coordinated Surveillance Is Essential to Monitor and Mitigate the Evolutionary Impacts of SARS‐CoV‐2 Spillover and Circulation in Animal Hosts.” Nature Ecology & Evolution 7, no. 7: 956–959	Kuchipudi	2023
-	2021. “A Sensitive and Specific Competitive Enzyme‐Linked Immunosorbent Assay for Serodiagnosis of COVID‐19 in Animals.” Microorganisms 9, no. 5: 1019	Lau	2021
-	2024. “SARS‐CoV‐2 Surveillance of Wild Mice and Rats in North American Cities.” EcoHealth 21, no. 1: 1–8	Lee	2024
-	Ferres, and R. E	Lobos	2005
-	2024. “Identification of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Urban Rodents From Southern Mexico City at the Beginning of the COVID‐19 Pandemic.” Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo 66: e8	Martínez‐Hernández	2024
-	2022. “Surveillance of Rodent Pests for SARS‐CoV‐2 and Other Coronaviruses, Hong Kong.” Emerging Infectious Diseases 28, no. 2: 467–470	Miot	2022
-	2023. “A Sandwich ELISA for Quantification of the SARS‐Cov‐2 Nucleocapsid Protein Based on Two‐Different‐Species Polyclonal Antibodies.” International Journal of Molecular Sciences 25, no. 1: 333	Mladenovic Stokanic	2023
-	2021. “Diagnostic and Analytical Performance Evaluation of Ten Commercially Available SARS‐Cov‐2 Humoral Immune Response Assays.” Journal of Immunological Methods 493: 113043	Mylemans	2021
-	2024. “SARS‐CoV‐2 Infection in Synanthropic Rats From Guayaquil City (Ecuador) During COVID‐19 Pandemic: A Proxy to Prevent Wild Reservoirs in the Tropics.” Acta Tropica 259: 107371	Orlando	2024
-	R., J. L. Cherry, D	Otieno	2022
-	2021. “Infection of Wild‐Type Mice by SARS‐CoV‐2 B.1.351 Variant Indicates a Possible Novel Cross‐Species Transmission Route.” Signal Transduction and Targeted Therapy 6, no. 1: 1–12	Pan	2021
-	2023. “Surveillance for SARS‐CoV‐2 in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) From Southern Ontario.” Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 2023: 1–9	Robinson	2023
-	2022. “Activity Patterns and Interactions of Rodents in an Assemblage Composed by Native Species and the Introduced Black Rat: Implications for Pathogen Transmission.” BMC Zoology 7, no. 1: 48	Salgado	2022
-	2021. “Emerging SARS‐CoV‐2 Variants Expand Species Tropism to Murines.” eBioMedicine 73: 103643	Shuai	2021
-	2020. “Pathogenesis and Transmission of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Golden Hamsters.” Nature 583, no. 7818: 834–838	Sia	2020
-	2023. “SARS‐CoV‐2 Exposure in Norway Rats (Rattus norvegicus) From New York City.” MBio 14, no. 2: e0362122	Wang	2023
-	2023. “Investigations Into SARS‐CoV‐2 and Other Coronaviruses on Mink Farms in France Late in the First Year of the COVID‐19 Pandemic.” PLoS One 18, no. 8: e0290444	Wasniewski	2023
-	2022. “No Evidence for the Presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in Bank Voles and Other Rodents in Germany, 2020–2022.” Pathogens 11, no. 10: 1112	Wernike	2022
-	Cheng, H. Zhou, C. Sun, and S	Wu	2023

Evidence overview

Evidence 2

Types 2

Virus 1

Host 1

Evidence types

Serological Evidence 1 Zoonotic Surveillance 1

Linked entities

Viruses

Hosts

Locations

Publication metadata

Journal: Zoonoses and public health
Volume / Issue / Pages: 72 / 5 / 478-484
ISSN: 1863-2378
Journal country: Germany
DOI: 10.1111/zph.13222