Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain, 2019-2023

doi:10.1007/s11259-023-10190-2

. 2024 Feb;48(1):533-540.

doi: 10.1007/s11259-023-10190-2. Epub 2023 Aug 7.

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain, 2019-2023

Jacobo Giner^{1

2

3}, María Eugenia Lebrero², Michele Trotta¹, Pablo Rueda¹, Laura Vilalta⁴, Maite Verde^{1

2

3}, Ramón Hurtado-Guerrero^{5

6}, Julián Pardo^{7

8

9}, Delia Lacasta^{2

3}, Llipsy Santiago^{7

9}, Maykel Arias^{7

9}, Natacha Peña-Fresneda⁷, Andrés Montesinos^{10

11}, María D Pérez^{3

12}, Antonio Fernández^{1

2

3}, Sergio Villanueva-Saz^{13

14

15}

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
² Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
³ Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Zaragoza, Spain.
⁴ Hospital Veterinari Canis, Girona, Spain.
⁵ Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Edificio I+D, Campus Rio Ebro, Zaragoza, Spain.
⁶ Aragon I+D Foundation (ARAID), Zaragoza, Spain.
⁷ Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), Zaragoza, Spain.
⁸ Department of Microbiology, Pediatrics, Radiology and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
⁹ CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁰ Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Univerisdad Complutense Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
¹¹ Hospital Veterinario de Animales Exoticos Los Suaces, Madrid, Spain.
¹² Department of Animal Production and Sciences of the Food, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
¹³ Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain. svs@unizar.es.
¹⁴ Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. svs@unizar.es.
¹⁵ Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Zaragoza, Spain. svs@unizar.es.

PMID: 37548874
PMCID: PMC10811151
DOI: 10.1007/s11259-023-10190-2

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain, 2019-2023

Jacobo Giner et al. Vet Res Commun. 2024 Feb.

. 2024 Feb;48(1):533-540.

doi: 10.1007/s11259-023-10190-2. Epub 2023 Aug 7.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain.
² Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
³ Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Zaragoza, Spain.
⁴ Hospital Veterinari Canis, Girona, Spain.
⁵ Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), University of Zaragoza, Edificio I+D, Campus Rio Ebro, Zaragoza, Spain.
⁶ Aragon I+D Foundation (ARAID), Zaragoza, Spain.
⁷ Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), Zaragoza, Spain.
⁸ Department of Microbiology, Pediatrics, Radiology and Public Health, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
⁹ CIBER de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain.
¹⁰ Department of Animal Medicine and Surgery, Veterinary Faculty, Univerisdad Complutense Madrid, Madrid, Spain.
¹¹ Hospital Veterinario de Animales Exoticos Los Suaces, Madrid, Spain.
¹² Department of Animal Production and Sciences of the Food, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
¹³ Clinical Immunology Laboratory, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, 50013, Zaragoza, Spain. svs@unizar.es.
¹⁴ Department of Animal Pathology, Veterinary Faculty, University of Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain. svs@unizar.es.
¹⁵ Instituto Agroalimentario de Aragón-IA2 (Universidad de Zaragoza-CITA), Zaragoza, Spain. svs@unizar.es.

PMID: 37548874
PMCID: PMC10811151
DOI: 10.1007/s11259-023-10190-2

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 is the causal agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in humans that emerged in late 2019. This virus is able to infect humans and different animal species. Among pets, cats and ferrets are more susceptible to be infected by the SARS-CoV-2. Epidemiological studies are an important tool to provide information under natural conditions of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus. In comparison to cats, limited epidemiological studies have been performed in domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) reporting the presence of antibodies in this species. This study analysed the presence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in 432 cliend-owned ferrets from different geographical areas of Spain during the different waves of COVID-19 outbreaks from December 2019 to May 2023 (42 months). For this purpose, anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent method (ELISA) using the receptor binding domain (RBD) of Spike antigen and confirmed by serum virus neutralization assay. Eighteen of the 432 ferrets included were seroreactive by the in-house ELISA (4.17%, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 2.65-6.49). In this sense, the wave of COVID-19 with the higher number of seropositive ferrets occurred during the seventh wave when the different Omicron subvariants were the dominant virus variants. Our results suggest that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission in domestic ferrets in natural conditions is low. Further research is need to evaluate the potential risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from human to pets.

Keywords: ELISA; Ferret; SARS-CoV-2; Serology; Spain; VNT.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

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References

1. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S (2021) https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa.... Accessed 25 May 2023
1. Dancer AMM, Díez-León M, Bizley JK, Burn CC. Housing and environmental enrichment of the domestic ferret: a multi-sector survey. Animals. 2022;12:1065. doi: 10.3390/ani12091065. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
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1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2022) Implications of the emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern BA.4 and BA.5 for the EU/EEA – 14 June 2022
1. Giner J, Villanueva-Saz S, Tobajas AP, Pérez MD, González A, Verde M, Yzuel A, García-García A, Taleb V, Lira-Navarrete E, Hurtado-Guerrero R, Pardo J, Santiago L, Paño JR, Ruíz H, Lacasta D, Fernández A. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) Animals. 2021;11:667. doi: 10.3390/ani11030667. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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[1] Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S (2021) https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa.... Accessed 25 May 2023

[2] Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service U.S (2021) https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/newsroom/stakeholder-info/sa_by_date/sa.... Accessed 25 May 2023

[3] Dancer AMM, Díez-León M, Bizley JK, Burn CC. Housing and environmental enrichment of the domestic ferret: a multi-sector survey. Animals. 2022;12:1065. doi: 10.3390/ani12091065. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[4] Dancer AMM, Díez-León M, Bizley JK, Burn CC. Housing and environmental enrichment of the domestic ferret: a multi-sector survey. Animals. 2022;12:1065. doi: 10.3390/ani12091065. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[5] Decaro N, Grassi A, Lorusso E, Patterson EI, Lorusso A, Desario C, Anderson ER, Vasinioti V, Wastika CE, Hughes GL, Valleriani F, Colitti B, Ricci D, Buonavoglia D, Rosati S, Cavaliere N, Paltrinieri S, Lauzi S, Elia G, Buonavoglia C. Long-term persistence of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in pets. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022;69:3073–3076. doi: 10.1111/tbed.14308. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[6] Decaro N, Grassi A, Lorusso E, Patterson EI, Lorusso A, Desario C, Anderson ER, Vasinioti V, Wastika CE, Hughes GL, Valleriani F, Colitti B, Ricci D, Buonavoglia D, Rosati S, Cavaliere N, Paltrinieri S, Lauzi S, Elia G, Buonavoglia C. Long-term persistence of neutralizing SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in pets. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022;69:3073–3076. doi: 10.1111/tbed.14308. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[7] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2022) Implications of the emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern BA.4 and BA.5 for the EU/EEA – 14 June 2022

[8] European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (2022) Implications of the emergence and spread of the SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern BA.4 and BA.5 for the EU/EEA – 14 June 2022

[9] Giner J, Villanueva-Saz S, Tobajas AP, Pérez MD, González A, Verde M, Yzuel A, García-García A, Taleb V, Lira-Navarrete E, Hurtado-Guerrero R, Pardo J, Santiago L, Paño JR, Ruíz H, Lacasta D, Fernández A. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) Animals. 2021;11:667. doi: 10.3390/ani11030667. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

[10] Giner J, Villanueva-Saz S, Tobajas AP, Pérez MD, González A, Verde M, Yzuel A, García-García A, Taleb V, Lira-Navarrete E, Hurtado-Guerrero R, Pardo J, Santiago L, Paño JR, Ruíz H, Lacasta D, Fernández A. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) Animals. 2021;11:667. doi: 10.3390/ani11030667. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

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Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain, 2019-2023

Affiliations

Seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in household domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) in Spain, 2019-2023

Authors

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Abstract

Conflict of interest statement

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