Absence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Natural Environment Exposure in Sheep in Close Contact with Humans

Villanueva-Saz, Sergio (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Giner, Jacobo ; Fernández, Antonio ; Lacasta, Delia (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ortín, Aurora (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ramos, Juan José (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ferrer, Luis Miguel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ruiz de Arcaute, Marta (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Tobajas, Ana Pilar (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Pérez, María Dolores (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Verde, Maite (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Marteles, Diana ; Hurtado-Guerrero, Ramón ; Pardo, Julián (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Santiago, Llipsy (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; González-Ramírez, Andrés Manuel (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Macías-León, Javier (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; García-García, Ana (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Taleb, Víctor (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Lira-Navarrete, Erandi (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Paño-Pardo, José Ramón (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Ruíz, Héctor (Universidad de Zaragoza)

Resumen: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the zoonotic causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) that has caused a pandemic situation with millions of infected humans worldwide. Among domestic animals, there have been limited studies regarding the transmissibility and exposure to the infection in natural conditions. Some animals are exposed andor susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, such as cats, ferrets and dogs. By contrast, there is no information about the susceptibility of ruminants to SARS-CoV-2. This study tested the antibody response in 90 ovine pre-pandemic serum samples and 336 sheep serum samples from the pandemic period (June 2020 to March 2021). In both cases, the animals were in close contact with a veterinary student community composed of more than 700 members. None of the serum samples analyzed was seroreactive based on an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using the receptor-binding domain (RBD) of the spike antigen. In this sense, no statistical difference was observed compared to the pre-pandemic sheep. Our results suggest that it seems unlikely that sheep could play a relevant role in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection. This is the first study to report the absence of evidence of sheep exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in natural conditions.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.3390/ani11071984

Año: 2021

Publicado en: Animals 11, 7 (2021), 1984 [9 pp.]
ISSN: 2076-2615

Factor impacto JCR: 3.231 (2021)

Categ. JCR: VETERINARY SCIENCES rank: 16 / 145 = 0.11 (2021) - Q1 - T1
Categ. JCR: AGRICULTURE, DAIRY & ANIMAL SCIENCE rank: 13 / 62 = 0.21 (2021) - Q1 - T1

Factor impacto CITESCORE: 2.7 - Veterinary (Q2) - Agricultural and Biological Sciences (Q2)

Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 0.61 - Veterinary (miscellaneous) (Q1) - Animal Science and Zoology (Q1)

Financiación: info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/COV20-0030

Tipo y forma: Article (Published version)

Área (Departamento): Área Inmunología (Dpto. Microb.Ped.Radio.Sal.Pú.)
Área (Departamento): Area Medicina (Dpto. Medicina, Psiqu. y Derm.)
Área (Departamento): Área Bioquímica y Biolog.Mole. (Dpto. Bioq.Biolog.Mol. Celular)
Área (Departamento): Área Medicina y Cirugía Animal (Dpto. Patología Animal)
Área (Departamento): Área Tecnología de Alimentos (Dpto. Produc.Animal Cienc.Ali.)