Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to animals: an updated review

doi:10.1186/s12967-020-02534-2

Review

. 2020 Sep 21;18(1):358.

doi: 10.1186/s12967-020-02534-2.

Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to animals: an updated review

Sina Salajegheh Tazerji^{1

2}, Phelipe Magalhães Duarte³, Parastoo Rahimi⁴, Fatemeh Shahabinejad⁵, Santosh Dhakal⁶, Yashpal Singh Malik⁷, Awad A Shehata^{8

9}, Juan Lama¹⁰, Jörn Klein¹¹, Muhammad Safdar¹², Md Tanvir Rahman¹³, Krzysztof J Filipiak¹⁴, Alfonso J Rodríguez-Morales¹⁵, Md Abdus Sobur¹³, Farrokhreza Kabir¹⁶, Bita Vazir¹⁷, Leonard Mboera¹⁸, Marco Caporale¹⁹, Md Saiful Islam¹³, John H Amuasi²⁰, Rasha Gharieb²¹, Paola Roncada²², Sahar Musaad²³, Bruno Tilocca²², Mohammad Kazem Koohi²⁴, Ali Taghipour²⁵, Ahmet Sait²⁶, Kannan Subbaram²⁷, Alireza Jahandideh¹⁶, Pejman Mortazavi²⁸, Mohammad Amin Abedini⁴, David A Hokey²⁹, Unarose Hogan³⁰, Mohamed N F Shaheen³¹, Ahmed Elaswad³², Mahmoud M Elhaig³³, Mohamed Fawzy³⁴

Affiliations

¹ Young Researchers and Elites Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. sina.salajegheh@gmail.com.
² Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. sina.salajegheh@gmail.com.
³ Faculty of Biological and Health Sciences, Universidade de Cuiabá (UNIC), Primavera Do Leste, MT, Brazil.
⁴ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁶ W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁷ Division of Biological Standardization, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁸ Research and Development Section, PerNaturam GmbH, 56290, Gödenroth, Germany.
⁹ Avian and Rabbit Diseases Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt.
¹⁰ RetroVirox, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.
¹¹ Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kongsberg, Norway.
¹² Department of Breeding and Genetics, Cholistan University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
¹³ Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh.
¹⁴ Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
¹⁵ Grupo de Investigacion Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundacion Universitaria Autonoma de las Americas, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
¹⁶ Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
¹⁷ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
¹⁸ Emerging and Vector-borne Diseases Program, SACIDS Foundation for One Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
¹⁹ Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
²⁰ Global Health, and Infectious Diseases Research Group, Kumasi Collaborative Center for Research in Tropical Medicine, Kumasi, Ghana.
²¹ Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Sharkia Province, Egypt.
²² Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Græcia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
²³ Kanad Hospital, Alain, P.O. Box 1016, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
²⁴ Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
²⁵ Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
²⁶ Virology Department, Pendik Veterinary Control Institute, Ministry of Food and Forestry, 34890, Pendik-Istanbul, Turkey.
²⁷ Department of Preparatory (Biology), Al-Ghad International Colleges for Applied Medical Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
²⁸ Pathobiology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
²⁹ Aeras, Rockville, MD, USA.
³⁰ Infection Prevention and Control, Technical Unit, Americares, Stamford, UK.
³¹ Environmental Virology Laboratory, Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Division, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
³² Department of Animal Wealth Development, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.
³³ Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.
³⁴ Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.

PMID: 32957995
PMCID: PMC7503431
DOI: 10.1186/s12967-020-02534-2

Review

Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to animals: an updated review

Sina Salajegheh Tazerji et al. J Transl Med. 2020.

. 2020 Sep 21;18(1):358.

doi: 10.1186/s12967-020-02534-2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Young Researchers and Elites Club, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. sina.salajegheh@gmail.com.
² Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. sina.salajegheh@gmail.com.
³ Faculty of Biological and Health Sciences, Universidade de Cuiabá (UNIC), Primavera Do Leste, MT, Brazil.
⁴ Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
⁵ Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.
⁶ W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
⁷ Division of Biological Standardization, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India.
⁸ Research and Development Section, PerNaturam GmbH, 56290, Gödenroth, Germany.
⁹ Avian and Rabbit Diseases Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sadat City, Sadat City, Egypt.
¹⁰ RetroVirox, Inc., San Diego, CA, USA.
¹¹ Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South-Eastern Norway, Kongsberg, Norway.
¹² Department of Breeding and Genetics, Cholistan University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences, Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
¹³ Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh.
¹⁴ Department of Cardiology, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
¹⁵ Grupo de Investigacion Biomedicina, Faculty of Medicine, Fundacion Universitaria Autonoma de las Americas, Pereira, Risaralda, Colombia.
¹⁶ Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
¹⁷ Department of Physiology, Faculty of Specialized Veterinary Sciences, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
¹⁸ Emerging and Vector-borne Diseases Program, SACIDS Foundation for One Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.
¹⁹ Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise "G. Caporale", Teramo, Italy.
²⁰ Global Health, and Infectious Diseases Research Group, Kumasi Collaborative Center for Research in Tropical Medicine, Kumasi, Ghana.
²¹ Department of Zoonoses, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Sharkia Province, Egypt.
²² Department of Health Sciences, University "Magna Græcia" of Catanzaro, Catanzaro, Italy.
²³ Kanad Hospital, Alain, P.O. Box 1016, Abu Dhabi, UAE.
²⁴ Department of Comparative Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.
²⁵ Department of Clinical Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Karaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Karaj, Iran.
²⁶ Virology Department, Pendik Veterinary Control Institute, Ministry of Food and Forestry, 34890, Pendik-Istanbul, Turkey.
²⁷ Department of Preparatory (Biology), Al-Ghad International Colleges for Applied Medical Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
²⁸ Pathobiology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
²⁹ Aeras, Rockville, MD, USA.
³⁰ Infection Prevention and Control, Technical Unit, Americares, Stamford, UK.
³¹ Environmental Virology Laboratory, Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Division, National Research Center, Dokki, Giza, 12622, Egypt.
³² Department of Animal Wealth Development, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.
³³ Department of Animal Medicine (Infectious Diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.
³⁴ Department of Virology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Suez Canal University, Ismailia, 41522, Egypt.

PMID: 32957995
PMCID: PMC7503431
DOI: 10.1186/s12967-020-02534-2

Abstract

COVID-19 caused by a novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) originated in Wuhan (Hubei province, China) during late 2019. It has spread across the globe affecting nearly 21 million people with a toll of 0.75 million deaths and restricting the movement of most of the world population during the past 6 months. COVID-19 became the leading health, economic, and humanitarian challenge of the twenty-first century. In addition to the considerable COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths in humans, several cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections in animal hosts (dog, cat, tiger, lion, and mink) have been reported. Thus, the concern of pet owners is increasing. Moreover, the dynamics of the disease requires further explanation, mainly concerning the transmission of the virus from humans to animals and vice versa. Therefore, this study aimed to gather information about the reported cases of COVID-19 transmission in animals through a literary review of works published in scientific journals and perform genomic and phylogenetic analyses of SARS-CoV-2 isolated from animal hosts. Although many instances of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 have been reported, caution and further studies are necessary to avoid the occurrence of maltreatment in animals, and to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics of the disease in the environment, humans, and animals. Future research in the animal-human interface can help formulate and implement preventive measures to combat the further transmission of COVID-19.

Keywords: Animals; COVID-19; Coronavirus; Epidemiology; One Health; Pandemic; Pet animals; SARS-CoV-2; Zoonoses.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

**Fig. 1**
Phylogenetic tree of *Coronaviridae* taxonomy

**Fig. 2**
Coronavirus origins and relationship between humans and animals

**Fig. 3**
Phylogenetic analysis of human and animal CoVs

See this image and copyright information in PMC

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References

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[1] Lu R, Zhao X, Li J, Niu P, Yang B, Wu H, Wang W, Song H, Huang B, Zhu N. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet. 2020;395(10224):565–574. - PMC - PubMed

[2] Lu R, Zhao X, Li J, Niu P, Yang B, Wu H, Wang W, Song H, Huang B, Zhu N. Genomic characterisation and epidemiology of 2019 novel coronavirus: implications for virus origins and receptor binding. Lancet. 2020;395(10224):565–574. - PMC - PubMed

[3] Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, Gao GF. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):470–473. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30185-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Wang C, Horby PW, Hayden FG, Gao GF. A novel coronavirus outbreak of global health concern. Lancet. 2020;395(10223):470–473. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(20)30185-9. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Lai CC, Shih TP, Ko WC, Tang HJ, Hsueh PR. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): the epidemic and the challenges. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105924. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Lai CC, Shih TP, Ko WC, Tang HJ, Hsueh PR. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): the epidemic and the challenges. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020 doi: 10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105924. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] Munster VJ, Koopmans M, van Doremalen N, van Riel D, de Wit E. A novel coronavirus emerging in China—key questions for impact assessment. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(8):692–694. - PubMed

[8] Munster VJ, Koopmans M, van Doremalen N, van Riel D, de Wit E. A novel coronavirus emerging in China—key questions for impact assessment. N Engl J Med. 2020;382(8):692–694. - PubMed

[9] Shi J, Wen Z, Zhong G, Yang H, Wang C, Huang B, Liu R, He X, Shuai L, Sun Z. Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and other domesticated animals to SARS–coronavirus 2. Science. 2020;368(6494):1016–1020. - PMC - PubMed

[10] Shi J, Wen Z, Zhong G, Yang H, Wang C, Huang B, Liu R, He X, Shuai L, Sun Z. Susceptibility of ferrets, cats, dogs, and other domesticated animals to SARS–coronavirus 2. Science. 2020;368(6494):1016–1020. - PMC - PubMed

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Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to animals: an updated review

Affiliations

Transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) to animals: an updated review

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