Susceptibility of rabbits to SARS-CoV-2

Abstract

Transmission of severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) between livestock and humans is a potential public health concern. We demonstrate the susceptibility of rabbits to SARS-CoV-2, which excrete infectious virus from the nose and throat upon experimental inoculation. Therefore, investigations on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in farmed rabbits should be considered.

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 Circulation and Diversity through Community Wastewater Sequencing, the Netherlands and Belgium

“…In a recent study from the United States, wastewater contained SARS-CoV-2 genomes identical to those in clinical samples from the same region (37). Sewage samples can contain a mixture of SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which can be an indication of multiple viruses circulating within a community and perhaps in domestic and livestock animals (38)(39)(40)(41)(42). We applied a targeted amplification method and thus did not assess the presence of other viruses.…”

Predicting the zoonotic capacity of mammals to transmit SARS-CoV-2

“…Multiple countries (OIE, 2021;Oreshkova et al, 2020;USDA, 2020) Raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) Yes In vivo experiment Lab (Freuling et al, 2020) European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) Yes In vivo experiment Lab (Mykytyn et al, 2021) Lion (Panthera leo) Yes Natural infection Multiple countries (Bartlett et al, 2021;OIE, 2021) Tiger (Panthera tigris) Yes Natural infection USA and Sweden (Bartlett et al, 2021;OIE, 2021;USDA, 2020;Wang et al, 2020) Deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus)* Yes In vivo experiment Lab (Fagre et al, 2020;Griffin et al, 2020) (Schlottau et al, 2020;Shi et al, 2020) Northern treeshrew (Tupaia belangeri) Yes In vivo experiment Lab (Zhao et al, 2020) Snow leopard (Uncia uncia) Yes Natural infection Zoo (Louisville Zoo, 2020) Figure 1. A heatmap summarizing predicted susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 for species with confirmed infection status from in vivo experimental studies or documented natural infections.…”

“…Insofar as data limitations (e.g., limited ACE2 sequences or species trait data) preclude perfect computational predictions of zoonotic capacity, laboratory experiments are also limited in assessing true zoonotic capacity. For SARS-CoV-2 and other host-pathogen systems, animals that are readily infected in the lab appear to be less susceptible in non-lab settings (ferrets in the lab vs. mixed results in ferrets as pets (OIE, 2021;Sawatzki et al, 2020;Schlottau et al, 2020); rabbits in the lab vs. rabbits as pets (Mykytyn et al, 2021;Ruiz-Arrondo et al, 2020)). Moreover, wildlife hosts that are confirmed to shed multiple zoonotic viruses in natural settings (e.g., bats, (Peel et al, 2019)) can be much less tractable for laboratory investigations (for instance, requiring high biosecurity containment and very limited sample sizes).…”

Assessing the risks of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife

“…Such studies demonstrate susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, albeit with varying levels of viral replication and shedding, in domestic cats (Felis catus) and dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), ferrets (Mustela putorius furo), American mink (Neovison vison), Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), Roborovski's dwarf hamster (Phodopus roborovskii), deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus), bushy-tailed woodrats (Neotoma cinerea), bank voles (Myodes glareolus), rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta), cynomolgus macaques (M. fascicularis), African green monkeys (Chlorocebus sp. ), Chinese tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis), common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), racoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis), raccoons (Procyon lotor), white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), laboratory rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and mice (Mus musculus), and cattle (Bos taurus) [21,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. Experimental studies have failed to demonstrate susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 in a range of other species including cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus sp.…”