Lack of SARS-CoV-2 Viral RNA Detection among a Convenience Sampling of Ohio Wildlife, Companion, and Agricultural Animals, 2020–2021

SIMPLE SUMMARY: SARS-CoV-2, the virus lead to global COVID-19 pandemic, is thought to have an animal origin. From humans, SARS-CoV-2 then transmitted to multiple animal species. Infection transmission between species can lead to reservoir species that harbor the virus and promote its reemergence. Between-species viral transmission can also promote viral mutations that make it more harmful to humans or animals or more transmissible to critical populations (e.g., endangered species, agricultural animals). Characterizing SARS-CoV-2 infections across species became a priority early in the pandemic to help understand transmission and susceptibility. In this study, we tested 792 domestic and wild animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. We focused on high risk animals including sick animals, animals highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 (e.g., cats, primates), and highly congregated animals or those with frequent human contact (e.g., shelters, barns, pets). Of the 34 species we tested, SARS-CoV-2 virus was not detected in any sample. Our sampling was largely conducted prior to the peak of human SARS-CoV-2 in Ohio, and this lack-of-detection does not imply lack of susceptibility or transmission between species. Importantly ongoing surveillance is still critical to predicting and preventing future SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans and animals. ABSTRACT: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) emerged in humans in late 2019 and spread rapidly, becoming a global pandemic. A zoonotic spillover event from animal to human was identified as the presumed origin. Subsequently, reports began emerging regarding spillback events resulting in SARS-CoV-2 infections in multiple animal species. These events highlighted critical links between animal and human health while also raising concerns about the development of new reservoir hosts and potential viral mutations that could alter the virulence and transmission or evade immune responses. Characterizing susceptibility, prevalence, and transmission between animal species became a priority to help protect animal and human health. In this study, we coalesced a large team of investigators and community partners to surveil for SARS-CoV-2 in domestic and free-ranging animals around Ohio between May 2020 and August 2021. We focused on species with known or predicted susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, highly congregated or medically compromised animals (e.g., shelters, barns, veterinary hospitals), and animals that had frequent contact with humans (e.g., pets, agricultural animals, zoo animals, or animals in wildlife hospitals). This included free-ranging deer (n = 76 individuals), free-ranging mink (n = 57), multiple species of bats (n = 59), and other wildlife in addition to domestic cats (n = 275) and pigs (n = 184). In total, we tested 792 individual animals (34 species) via rRT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was not detected in any of the tested animals despite a major peak in human SARS-CoV-2 cases that occurred in Ohio subsequent to the peak of animal samplings. Importantly, we did not test for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in this study, which limited our ability to assess exposure. While the results of this study were negative, the surveillance effort was critical and remains key to understanding, predicting, and preventing the re-emergence of SARS-CoV-2 in humans or animals.