RESUMO
Vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) outbreaks periodically occur in livestock in the western US and are thought to originate from outside this country. Feral swine (Sus scrofa) have been identified as an amplifying host for vesicular stomatitis New Jersey virus (VSNJV) and have been used to better understand the epidemiology of this virus through serosurveillance. This study aimed to determine if antibodies to vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus (VSIV) and VSNJV were present in feral swine in the western US and to determine if seropositive animals were associated with areas of previously detected VSV in livestock. A total of 4,541 feral swine samples was tested using virus neutralization (VN); samples exhibiting neutralizing activity against one or more of the viruses were confirmed using competitive ELISA (cELISA). Eight sera exhibited neutralizing activity by VN assay and a single serum sample from an animal from Kinney County, Texas sampled in December 2019 tested positive for antibodies to VSIV by cELISA. This finding is supported by a local outbreak of VSIV in horses in the same county in June 2019. The low prevalence of antibodies against VSNJV and VSIV was unexpected but indicates that feral swine in the western US do not represent an endemic reservoir for either of these viruses.
RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To characterize clinical and epidemiologic features of SARS-CoV-2 in companion animals detected through both passive and active surveillance in the US. ANIMALS: 204 companion animals (109 cats, 95 dogs) across 33 states with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections between March 2020 and December 2021. PROCEDURES: Public health officials, animal health officials, and academic researchers investigating zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 transmission events reported clinical, laboratory, and epidemiologic information through a standardized One Health surveillance process developed by the CDC and partners. RESULTS: Among dogs and cats identified through passive surveillance, 94% (n = 87) had reported exposure to a person with COVID-19 before infection. Clinical signs of illness were present in 74% of pets identified through passive surveillance and 27% of pets identified through active surveillance. Duration of illness in pets averaged 15 days in cats and 12 days in dogs. The average time between human and pet onset of illness was 10 days. Viral nucleic acid was first detected at 3 days after exposure in both cats and dogs. Antibodies were detected starting 5 days after exposure, and titers were highest at 9 days in cats and 14 days in dogs. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results of the present study supported that cats and dogs primarily become infected with SARS-CoV-2 following exposure to a person with COVID-19, most often their owners. Case investigation and surveillance that include both people and animals are necessary to understand transmission dynamics and viral evolution of zoonotic diseases like SARS-CoV-2.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Doenças do Gato , Doenças do Cão , Animais , Gatos , Humanos , Cães , Estados Unidos/epidemiologia , SARS-CoV-2 , COVID-19/epidemiologia , COVID-19/veterinária , Doenças do Gato/epidemiologia , Doenças do Cão/epidemiologia , Zoonoses/epidemiologia , Animais de EstimaçãoRESUMO
Documented natural infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in exotic and companion animals following human exposures are uncommon. Those documented in animals are typically mild and self-limiting, and infected animals have only infrequently died or been euthanized. Through a coordinated One Health initiative, necropsies were conducted on 5 animals from different premises that were exposed to humans with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. The combination of epidemiologic evidence of exposure and confirmatory real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction testing confirmed infection in 3 cats and a tiger. A dog was a suspect case based on epidemiologic evidence of exposure but tested negative for SARS-CoV-2. Four animals had respiratory clinical signs that developed 2 to 12 days after exposure. The dog had bronchointerstitial pneumonia and the tiger had bronchopneumonia; both had syncytial-like cells with no detection of SARS-CoV-2. Individual findings in the 3 cats included metastatic mammary carcinoma, congenital renal disease, and myocardial disease. Based on the necropsy findings and a standardized algorithm, SARS-CoV-2 infection was not considered the cause of death in any of the cases. Continued surveillance and necropsy examination of animals with fatal outcomes will further our understanding of natural SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals and the potential role of the virus in development of lesions.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Doenças do Cão , Saúde Única , Animais , COVID-19/veterinária , Doenças do Cão/diagnóstico , Cães , Animais de Estimação , SARS-CoV-2RESUMO
Humans have infected a wide range of animals with SARS-CoV-21-5, but the establishment of a new natural animal reservoir has not been observed. Here we document that free-ranging white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are highly susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, are exposed to multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants from humans and are capable of sustaining transmission in nature. Using real-time PCR with reverse transcription, we detected SARS-CoV-2 in more than one-third (129 out of 360, 35.8%) of nasal swabs obtained from O. virginianus in northeast Ohio in the USA during January to March 2021. Deer in six locations were infected with three SARS-CoV-2 lineages (B.1.2, B.1.582 and B.1.596). The B.1.2 viruses, dominant in humans in Ohio at the time, infected deer in four locations. We detected probable deer-to-deer transmission of B.1.2, B.1.582 and B.1.596 viruses, enabling the virus to acquire amino acid substitutions in the spike protein (including the receptor-binding domain) and ORF1 that are observed infrequently in humans. No spillback to humans was observed, but these findings demonstrate that SARS-CoV-2 viruses have been transmitted in wildlife in the USA, potentially opening new pathways for evolution. There is an urgent need to establish comprehensive 'One Health' programmes to monitor the environment, deer and other wildlife hosts globally.
Assuntos
Animais Selvagens/virologia , COVID-19/veterinária , Cervos/virologia , Filogenia , SARS-CoV-2/isolamento & purificação , Zoonoses Virais/transmissão , Zoonoses Virais/virologia , Sequência de Aminoácidos , Substituição de Aminoácidos , Animais , COVID-19/epidemiologia , COVID-19/transmissão , Evolução Molecular , Humanos , Masculino , Ohio/epidemiologia , Saúde Única/tendências , SARS-CoV-2/química , SARS-CoV-2/classificação , SARS-CoV-2/genética , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/química , Glicoproteína da Espícula de Coronavírus/genética , Zoonoses Virais/epidemiologiaRESUMO
Widespread human SARS-CoV-2 infections combined with human-wildlife interactions create the potential for reverse zoonosis from humans to wildlife. We targeted white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) for serosurveillance based on evidence these deer have angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptors with high affinity for SARS-CoV-2, are permissive to infection, exhibit sustained viral shedding, can transmit to conspecifics, exhibit social behavior, and can be abundant near urban centers. We evaluated 624 prepandemic and postpandemic serum samples from wild deer from four US states for SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Antibodies were detected in 152 samples (40%) from 2021 using a surrogate virus neutralization test. A subset of samples tested with a SARS-CoV-2 virus neutralization test showed high concordance between tests. These data suggest white-tailed deer in the populations assessed have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
Assuntos
Cervos/virologia , SARS-CoV-2/isolamento & purificação , Animais , COVID-19/epidemiologia , COVID-19/veterinária , Great Lakes Region/epidemiologia , Estudos SoroepidemiológicosRESUMO
Human-to-animal and animal-to-animal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been documented; however, investigations into SARS-CoV-2 transmission in congregate animal settings are lacking. We investigated four animal shelters in the United States that had identified animals with exposure to shelter employees with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Of the 96 cats and dogs with specimens collected, only one dog had detectable SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies; no animal specimens had detectable viral RNA. These data indicate a low probability of human-to-animal transmission events in cats and dogs in shelter settings with early implementation of infection prevention interventions.
RESUMO
The neutrophil contributes significantly to the immune response. In particular, their phagocytosis and pathogen-killing functions are vital for defense from invading pathogens. Rac2, a Rho small GTPase, is involved in many key neutrophil functions. Loss of Rac2 activity results in severe bacterial infections and neutrophil function deficits in humans and mice. While the genes rac1, 2, and 3 have been identified in the zebrafish genome, their expression has not been well-characterized. We describe rac1, 2, and 3 expression over the first three days of development, as well as the presence and localization of Rac2 protein in adult zebrafish neutrophils. The mRNA for each Rac isoform was detected in zebrafish embryos as early as 12 h post fertilization. Immunocytochemistry and confocal microscopy of adult zebrafish neutrophils confirmed diffuse Rac2 protein within the cytoplasm. Only rac2 was found in sorted neutrophil samples. Armed with knowledge of its presence and exclusive expression, the role of Rac2 in key antimicrobial zebrafish neutrophil responses was examined by small molecule inhibition of Rac during respiratory burst, NET release, and phagocytosis assays. Inhibition of Rac2 during these assays produced a dose-dependent decrease in each function, as was expected due to previous work in mammals. The expression pattern and role of Rac2 in zebrafish neutrophil function allows for comparative studies of innate immune responses in this animal model.
Assuntos
Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento/genética , Imunidade Inata/genética , Neutrófilos/metabolismo , Peixe-Zebra/embriologia , Peixe-Zebra/genética , Proteínas rac de Ligação ao GTP/metabolismo , Análise de Variância , Animais , Primers do DNA/genética , Citometria de Fluxo , Regulação da Expressão Gênica no Desenvolvimento/imunologia , Imuno-Histoquímica , Microscopia Confocal , Neutrófilos/imunologia , Proteínas da Membrana Plasmática de Transporte de Norepinefrina/metabolismo , Fagocitose/genética , Explosão Respiratória/genética , Reação em Cadeia da Polimerase Via Transcriptase Reversa , Peixe-Zebra/imunologia , Proteínas rac de Ligação ao GTP/genética , Proteínas rac de Ligação ao GTP/imunologia , Proteínas rac1 de Ligação ao GTP/metabolismo , Proteína RAC2 de Ligação ao GTPRESUMO
The zebrafish (Danio rerio) is an excellent model system for studies in developmental biology, genetics, and toxicology, and is increasingly gaining importance in the field of immunology. The use of whole zebrafish kidneys as source of neutrophils for degranulation assays and detection of neutrophil extracellular traps is described for the first time. Neutrophils from zebrafish kidneys released neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) upon stimulation with calcium ionophore, phorbol myristate acetate, and beta-glucan. Immunocytochemical study of zebrafish kidney cells revealed that NETs are made of DNA fibers associated with neutrophil granular proteins, but not with cytoskeleton. Rapid, direct MPO and extracellular DNA detection assays were developed to quantify NET release and degranulation of neutrophil primary granules from whole zebrafish kidneys. The assays were used to measure the effects of acute crowding and handling stress on neutrophils, and to examine the potential for use of zebrafish whole kidney assays in evaluation of neutrophil function under different conditions in vivo. The whole kidney NET release and degranulation assays are quantitative, can rapidly measure a large number of samples, and are capable of detecting inhibition of neutrophil activity in stressed fish, overcoming the limitations that prevented use of zebrafish in the investigations of cellular innate immune function. The assays can be used as a new research model to study effects of stress, immunomodulators, toxicants, and diseases on fish neutrophil biology.