Investigation of the Role of Healthy and Sick Equids in the COVID-19 Pandemic through Serological and Molecular Testing.

ABSTRACT: More and more studies are reporting on the natural transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between humans with COVID-19 and their companion animals (dogs and cats). While horses are apparently susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection based on the homology between the human and the equine ACE-2 receptor, no clinical or subclinical infection has yet been reported in the equine species. To investigate the possible clinical role of SARS-CoV-2 in equids, nasal secretions from 667 horses with acute onset of fever and respiratory signs were tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 by qPCR. The samples were collected from January to December of 2020 and submitted to a commercial molecular diagnostic laboratory for the detection of common respiratory pathogens (equine influenza virus, equine herpesvirus-1/-4, equine rh

SUBMITTER: Lawton KOY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8909032 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature