Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) in Domestic Dogs and Zoo Tigers in England and Jersey during 2021

Amanda H. Seekings; Rebecca Shipley; Alexander M. P. Byrne; Shweta Shukla; Megan Golding; Joan Amaya-Cuesta; Hooman Goharriz; Ana Gómez Vitores; Fabian Z. X. Lean; Joe James; Alejandro Núñez; Alistair Breed; Andrew Frost; Jörg Balzer; Ian H. Brown; Sharon M. Brookes; Lorraine M. McElhinney

doi:10.3390/v16040617

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) in Domestic Dogs and Zoo Tigers in England and Jersey during 2021

Amanda H. Seekings^*, Rebecca Shipley, Alexander M. P. Byrne, Shweta Shukla, Megan Golding, Joan Amaya-Cuesta, Hooman Goharriz, Ana Gómez Vitores, Fabian Z. X. Lean, Joe James, Alejandro Núñez, Alistair Breed, Andrew Frost, Jörg Balzer, Ian H. Brown, Sharon M. Brookes, Lorraine M. McElhinney

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

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Abstract

Reverse zoonotic transmission events of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been described since the start of the pandemic, and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) designated the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in animals a reportable disease. Eighteen domestic and zoo animals in Great Britain and Jersey were tested by APHA for SARS-CoV-2 during 2020–2023. One domestic cat (Felis catus), three domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and three Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) from a zoo were confirmed positive during 2020–2021 and reported to the WOAH. All seven positive animals were linked with known SARS-CoV-2 positive human contacts. Characterisation of the SARS-CoV-2 variants by genome sequencing indicated that the cat was infected with an early SARS-CoV-2 lineage. The three dogs and three tigers were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant of concern (B.1.617.2). The role of non-human species in the onward transmission and emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 remain poorly defined. Continued surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in relevant domestic and captive animal species with high levels of human contact is important to monitor transmission at the human−animal interface and to assess their role as potential animal reservoirs. © 2024 by the authors.

Original language	English
Article number	617
Number of pages	19
Journal	Viruses
Volume	16
Issue number	4
Online published	16 Apr 2024
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040617
Publication status	Published - Apr 2024
Externally published	Yes

Funding

Funding was provided by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the devolved Scottish and Welsh administrations under grant number SV3700. This work was supported by the European Virus Archive GLOBAL (EVAg; www.european-virus-archive.com) project that received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No. 871029.

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being
SDG 15 Life on Land

Research Keywords

cat
Delta variant
dog
reverse zoonosis
SARS-CoV-2
tiger

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This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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10.3390/v16040617

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Seekings, A. H., Shipley, R., Byrne, A. M. P., Shukla, S., Golding, M., Amaya-Cuesta, J., Goharriz, H., Vitores, A. G., Lean, F. Z. X., James, J., Núñez, A., Breed, A., Frost, A., Balzer, J., Brown, I. H., Brookes, S. M., & McElhinney, L. M. (2024). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) in Domestic Dogs and Zoo Tigers in England and Jersey during 2021. Viruses, 16(4), Article 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040617

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abstract = "Reverse zoonotic transmission events of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have been described since the start of the pandemic, and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) designated the detection of SARS-CoV-2 in animals a reportable disease. Eighteen domestic and zoo animals in Great Britain and Jersey were tested by APHA for SARS-CoV-2 during 2020–2023. One domestic cat (Felis catus), three domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), and three Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) from a zoo were confirmed positive during 2020–2021 and reported to the WOAH. All seven positive animals were linked with known SARS-CoV-2 positive human contacts. Characterisation of the SARS-CoV-2 variants by genome sequencing indicated that the cat was infected with an early SARS-CoV-2 lineage. The three dogs and three tigers were infected with the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant of concern (B.1.617.2). The role of non-human species in the onward transmission and emergence of new variants of SARS-CoV-2 remain poorly defined. Continued surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in relevant domestic and captive animal species with high levels of human contact is important to monitor transmission at the human−animal interface and to assess their role as potential animal reservoirs. {\textcopyright} 2024 by the authors.",

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Seekings, AH, Shipley, R, Byrne, AMP, Shukla, S, Golding, M, Amaya-Cuesta, J, Goharriz, H, Vitores, AG, Lean, FZX, James, J, Núñez, A, Breed, A, Frost, A, Balzer, J, Brown, IH, Brookes, SM & McElhinney, LM 2024, 'Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) in Domestic Dogs and Zoo Tigers in England and Jersey during 2021', Viruses, vol. 16, no. 4, 617. https://doi.org/10.3390/v16040617

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AU - Seekings, Amanda H.

AU - Shipley, Rebecca

AU - Byrne, Alexander M. P.

AU - Shukla, Shweta

AU - Golding, Megan

AU - Amaya-Cuesta, Joan

AU - Goharriz, Hooman

AU - Vitores, Ana Gómez

AU - Lean, Fabian Z. X.

AU - James, Joe

AU - Núñez, Alejandro

AU - Breed, Alistair

AU - Frost, Andrew

AU - Balzer, Jörg

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Detection of SARS-CoV-2 Delta Variant (B.1.617.2) in Domestic Dogs and Zoo Tigers in England and Jersey during 2021

Abstract

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UN SDGs

Research Keywords

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