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Review
. 2021 Jul 30;13(8):1507.
doi: 10.3390/v13081507.

Animal Coronavirus Diseases: Parallels with COVID-19 in Humans

Chao-Nan Lin  1   2 , Kuan Rong Chan  3 , Eng Eong Ooi  3   4   5 , Ming-Tang Chiou  1   2 , Minh Hoang  6 , Po-Ren Hsueh  7   8 , Peck Toung Ooi  9
Affiliations
Review

Animal Coronavirus Diseases: Parallels with COVID-19 in Humans

Chao-Nan Lin et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus in humans, has expanded globally over the past year. COVID-19 remains an important subject of intensive research owing to its huge impact on economic and public health globally. Based on historical archives, the first coronavirus-related disease recorded was possibly animal-related, a case of feline infectious peritonitis described as early as 1912. Despite over a century of documented coronaviruses in animals, the global animal industry still suffers from outbreaks. Knowledge and experience handling animal coronaviruses provide a valuable tool to complement our understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we present an overview of coronaviruses, clinical signs, COVID-19 in animals, genome organization and recombination, immunopathogenesis, transmission, viral shedding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. By drawing parallels between COVID-19 in animals and humans, we provide perspectives on the pathophysiological mechanisms by which coronaviruses cause diseases in both animals and humans, providing a critical basis for the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against these deadly viruses.

Keywords: COVID-19; DIVA; animal coronavirus; immunopathogenesis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
General summary of hosts, genome sequences, immunopathogenesis, and transmission features of animal coronaviruses that lead to clinical disease.
Figure 2
Figure 2
DIVA strategy for SARS-CoV-2 serological testing. The usage of a DIVA assay kit to differential naïve, vaccinated, and/or infected, with invalid results included.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Potential treatment approaches for immunopathogenic diseases, such as FIP or COVID-19, including anti-coronavirus agents, cytokine antagonists, and immunomodulators.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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