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

Institute for Biocomputation and Physics of Complex Systems (BIFI), Mariano Esquillor s/n, Campus Rio Ebro, Edificio I+D, University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain

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Aragon I+D Foundation (ARAID), 50018 Zaragoza, Spain

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Laboratorio de Microscopías Avanzada (LMA), Mariano Esquillor s/n, Campus Rio Ebro, Edificio I+D, Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, 50018 Zaragoza, Spain

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Copenhagen Center for Glycomics, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Copenhagen, 2200 Copenhagen, Denmark

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Aragon Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón), 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

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Department of Microbiology, Pediatrics, Radiology and Public Health, Zaragoza University of Zaragoza, 50013 Zaragoza, Spain

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Infectious Disease Department, University Hospital Lozano Blesa, 50009 Zaragoza, Spain

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Academic Editor: Ceferino Manuel López

Animals 2021, 11(7), 1984; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071984

Received: 18 May 2021 / Accepted: 25 May 2021 / Published: 2 July 2021

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Susceptibility of Animals to SARS-CoV-2)

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Simple Summary

Different species can harbor coronavirus, including domestic and wild animals. The Coroviridae family is composed of four genera, including Alphacoronavirus, Betacoronavirus, Gammacoronavirus and Deltacoronavirus. Some domestic animals are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 in natural and experimental infections. The infection of animals is generally a consequence of close contact with COVID-19 patients. Among domestic animals, SARS-CoV-2 replicates in respiratory ex vivo organ cultures of domestic ruminants. In this context, there is no information about the role sheep can play in the spread of the infection. This study tested the antibody response in 90 serum samples from sheep from the pre-pandemic period and 336 serum samples from sheep 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 were 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. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first serosurvey in sheep to detect anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Future investigations should analyze the epidemiological role of sheep in SARS-CoV-2 infection, including the prevalence of infection.

Abstract

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 and/or 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. View Full-Text

Keywords: coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19); ELISA; SARS-CoV-2; serology; sheep; ruminants

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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MDPI and ACS Style

Villanueva-Saz, S.; Giner, J.; Fernández, A.; Lacasta, D.; Ortín, A.; Ramos, J.J.; Ferrer, L.M.; Ruiz de Arcaute, M.; Tobajas, A.P.; Pérez, M.D.; Verde, M.; Marteles, D.; Hurtado-Guerrero, R.; Pardo, J.; Santiago, L.; González-Ramírez, A.M.; Macías-León, J.; García-García, A.; Taleb, V.; Lira-Navarrete, E.; Paño-Pardo, J.R.; Ruíz, H. Absence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Natural Environment Exposure in Sheep in Close Contact with Humans. Animals 2021, 11, 1984. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071984

AMA Style

Villanueva-Saz S, Giner J, Fernández A, Lacasta D, Ortín A, Ramos JJ, Ferrer LM, Ruiz de Arcaute M, Tobajas AP, Pérez MD, Verde M, Marteles D, Hurtado-Guerrero R, Pardo J, Santiago L, González-Ramírez AM, Macías-León J, García-García A, Taleb V, Lira-Navarrete E, Paño-Pardo JR, Ruíz H. Absence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Natural Environment Exposure in Sheep in Close Contact with Humans. Animals. 2021; 11(7):1984. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071984

Chicago/Turabian Style

Villanueva-Saz, Sergio, Jacobo Giner, Antonio Fernández, Delia Lacasta, Aurora Ortín, Juan J. Ramos, Luis M. Ferrer, Marta Ruiz de Arcaute, Ana P. Tobajas, María D. Pérez, Maite Verde, Diana Marteles, Ramón Hurtado-Guerrero, Julián Pardo, Llipsy Santiago, Andrés M. González-Ramírez, Javier Macías-León, Ana García-García, Víctor Taleb, Erandi Lira-Navarrete, José R. Paño-Pardo, and Héctor Ruíz. 2021. "Absence of SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies in Natural Environment Exposure in Sheep in Close Contact with Humans" Animals 11, no. 7: 1984. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11071984

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

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