Epidemiology, Evolution, and Prevention of Animal Coronaviruses

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817). This special issue belongs to the section "Viral Pathogens".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 September 2023) | Viewed by 4619

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Harbin, China
Interests: identification; epidemiology, evolution, prevention and control; animal coronaviruses

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the past two decades, the emergence of several coronaviruses, including severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) in 2002, Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV) in 2017, and SARS-CoV-2 in 2019, has had a devastating impact on public and veterinary health and socioeconomic stability worldwide. Many different species of animals, especially wildlife and bats, have been identified as natural hosts of diverse coronaviruses, which are the potential agents causing novel infections in both humans and domestic animals. Furthermore, coronaviruses that infect livestock and poultry, such as porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TEGV), and infectious bronchitis virus (IBV), have been circulating in many regions around the world and causing huge economic losses to the animal industries. Therefore, investigations on the identification, epidemiology, genetic evolution, and pathogenesis of animal coronaviruses are essential to prevent and control animal coronavirus diseases and eliminate the potential disease risks in humans.

For this Special Issue of Pathogens, we would like to invite you submit research or review articles that study topics including (but not limited to):

  • Identification and isolation of animal coronaviruses;
  • Spread or evolution of animal coronaviruses;
  • Epidemiological investigation of animal coronaviruses;
  • Investigations on the pathogenesis of animal coronaviruses;
  • Prevention and control of animal coronaviruses.

Dr. Jingfei Wang
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • livestock coronaviruses (PEDV, TGEV, bovine coronavirus (BCoVs), etc.)
  • avian coronaviruses (IBV, etc.)
  • pet coronaviruses (canine coronavirus (CCoV), feline coronavirus (FCoV), etc.)
  • wildlife coronaviruses (bat coronaviruses, ferret coronavirus (FRCoV), etc.)

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 6089 KiB  
Article
Metavirome Analysis Reveals a High Prevalence of Porcine Hemagglutination Encephalomyelitis Virus in Clinically Healthy Pigs in China
by Weiyao Sun, Zhibin Shi, Pengfei Wang, Bingbing Zhao, Jiaqi Li, Xinyu Wei, Lili Wei and Jingfei Wang
Pathogens 2023, 12(4), 510; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12040510 - 24 Mar 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1428
Abstract
Six swine coronaviruses (SCoVs), which include porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine hemagglutination encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV), porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), and porcine delta coronavirus (PDCoV), have been reported as infecting and causing serious [...] Read more.
Six swine coronaviruses (SCoVs), which include porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine hemagglutination encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV), porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV), swine acute diarrhea syndrome coronavirus (SADS-CoV), and porcine delta coronavirus (PDCoV), have been reported as infecting and causing serious diseases in pigs. To investigate the genetic diversity and spatial distribution of SCoVs in clinically healthy pigs in China, we collected 6400 nasal swabs and 1245 serum samples from clinically healthy pigs at slaughterhouses in 13 provinces in 2017 and pooled them into 17 libraries by type and region for next-generation sequencing (NGS) and metavirome analyses. In total, we identified five species of SCoVs, including PEDV, PDCoV, PHEV, PRCV, and TGEV. Strikingly, PHEV was detected from all the samples in high abundance and its genome sequences accounted for 75.28% of all coronaviruses, while those belonging to TGEV (including PRCV), PEDV, and PDCoV were 20.4%, 2.66%, and 2.37%, respectively. The phylogenetic analysis showed that two lineages of PHEV have been circulating in pig populations in China. We also recognized two PRCVs which lack 672 nucleotides at the N-terminus of the S gene compared with that of TGEV. Together, we disclose preliminarily the genetic diversities of SCoVs in clinically healthy pigs in China and provide new insights into two SCoVs, PHEV and PRCV, that have been somewhat overlooked in previous studies in China. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology, Evolution, and Prevention of Animal Coronaviruses)
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18 pages, 3090 KiB  
Article
Potential SARS-CoV-2 Susceptibility of Cetaceans Stranded along the Italian Coastline
by Tania Audino, Elena Berrone, Carla Grattarola, Federica Giorda, Virginia Mattioda, Walter Martelli, Antonio Pintore, Giuliana Terracciano, Cristiano Cocumelli, Giuseppe Lucifora, Fabio Di Nocera, Gabriella Di Francesco, Ludovica Di Renzo, Silva Rubini, Stefano Gavaudan, Anna Toffan, Roberto Puleio, Dashzeveg Bold, Francesco Brunelli, Maria Goria, Antonio Petrella, Maria Caramelli, Cristiano Corona, Sandro Mazzariol, Juergen A. Richt, Giovanni Di Guardo and Cristina Casaloneadd Show full author list remove Hide full author list
Pathogens 2022, 11(10), 1096; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens11101096 - 25 Sep 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2559
Abstract
Due to marine mammals’ demonstrated susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, based upon the homology level of their angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) viral receptor with the human one, alongside the global SARS-CoV-2 occurrence and fecal contamination of the river and marine ecosystems, SARS-CoV-2 infection may be [...] Read more.
Due to marine mammals’ demonstrated susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, based upon the homology level of their angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) viral receptor with the human one, alongside the global SARS-CoV-2 occurrence and fecal contamination of the river and marine ecosystems, SARS-CoV-2 infection may be plausibly expected to occur also in cetaceans, with special emphasis on inshore species like bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Moreover, based on immune and inflammatory responses to SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, macrophages could also play an important role in antiviral defense mechanisms. In order to provide a more in-depth insight into SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility in marine mammals, we evaluated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and the expression of ACE2 and the pan-macrophage marker CD68. Aliquots of tissue samples, belonging to cetaceans stranded along the Italian coastline during 2020-2021, were collected for SARS-CoV-2 analysis by real-time PCR (RT-PCRT) (N = 43) and Immunohistochemistry (IHC) (N = 59); thirty-two aliquots of pulmonary tissue sample (N = 17 Tursiops truncatus, N = 15 Stenella coeruleoalba) available at the Mediterranean Marine Mammal Tissue Bank (MMMTB) of the University of Padua (Legnaro, Padua, Italy) were analyzed to investigate ACE2 expression by IHC. In addition, ACE2 and CD68 were also investigated by Double-Labeling Immunofluorescence (IF) Confocal Laser Microscopy. No SARS-CoV-2 positivity was found in samples analyzed for the survey while ACE2 protein was detected in the lower respiratory tract albeit heterogeneously for age, gender/sex, and species, suggesting that ACE2 expression can vary between different lung regions and among individuals. Finally, double IF analysis showed elevated colocalization of ACE2 and CD68 in macrophages only when an evident inflammatory reaction was present, such as in human SARS-CoV-2 infection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Epidemiology, Evolution, and Prevention of Animal Coronaviruses)
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