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. 2020 Jul;67(4):1745-1749.
doi: 10.1111/tbed.13577. Epub 2020 May 7.

Serological survey of SARS-CoV-2 for experimental, domestic, companion and wild animals excludes intermediate hosts of 35 different species of animals

Junhua Deng  1 , Yipeng Jin  2 , Yuxiu Liu  3 , Jie Sun  3 , Liying Hao  3 , Jingjing Bai  3 , Tian Huang  3 , Degui Lin  2 , Yaping Jin  1 , Kegong Tian  3
Affiliations

Serological survey of SARS-CoV-2 for experimental, domestic, companion and wild animals excludes intermediate hosts of 35 different species of animals

Junhua Deng et al. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2020 Jul.

Retraction in

  • Withdrawal.
    [No authors listed] [No authors listed] Transbound Emerg Dis. 2021 Nov;68(6):3682. doi: 10.1111/tbed.13910. Epub 2021 Aug 23. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2021. PMID: 33145956 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

Abstract

The pandemic SARS-CoV-2 has been reported in 123 countries with more than 5,000 patients died from it. However, the original and intermediate hosts of the virus remain unknown. In this study, 1,914 serum samples from 35 animal species were used for detection of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies using double-antigen sandwich ELISA after validating its specificity and sensitivity. The results showed that no SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies were detected in above samples which excluded the possibility of 35 animal species as intermediate host for SARS-CoV-2. More importantly, companion animals including pet dogs (including one dog the SARS-CoV-2 patient kept and two dogs which had close contact with it) and cats, street dogs and cats also showed serological negative to SARS-CoV-2, which relieved the public concerns for the pets as SARS-CoV-2 carriers.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; intermediate hosts; wild animals.

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Conflict of interest statement

There was no conflict of interest with others.

Comment in

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