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Ferrets not infected by SARS-CoV-2 in a high-exposure domestic setting

View ORCID ProfileKaitlin Sawatzki, Nichola Hill, Wendy Puryear, Alexa Foss, Jonathon Stone, View ORCID ProfileJonathan Runstadler
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.21.254995
Kaitlin Sawatzki
1Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536
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Nichola Hill
1Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536
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Wendy Puryear
1Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536
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Alexa Foss
1Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536
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Jonathon Stone
1Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536
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Jonathan Runstadler
1Department of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, North Grafton, MA 01536
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  • For correspondence: jonathan.runstadler@tufts.edu
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Abstract

Ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are mustelids of special relevance to laboratory studies of respiratory viruses and have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and onward transmission. Here, we report the results of a natural experiment where 29 ferrets in one home had prolonged, direct contact and constant environmental exposure to two humans with symptomatic COVID-19. We observed no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from humans to ferrets based on RT-PCR and ELISA. To better understand this discrepancy in experimental and natural infection in ferrets, we compared SARS-CoV-2 sequences from natural and experimental mustelid infections and identified two surface glycoprotein (Spike) mutations associated with mustelids. While we found evidence that ACE2 provides a weak host barrier, one mutation only seen in ferrets is located in the novel S1/S2 cleavage site and is computationally predicted to decrease furin activity. These data support that host factors interacting with the novel S1/S2 cleavage site may be a barrier in ferret SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility and that domestic ferrets are at low risk of natural infection from currently circulating SARS-CoV-2. This may be overcome in laboratory settings using concentrated viral inoculum, but the effects of ferret host-adaptations require additional investigation.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • Corrected species name (european v. american mink) that was incorrectly annotated in GISAID/NCBI virus records. Virus was from American not European mink species. Relevant analyses and interpretation were updated in manuscript. Results unchaged.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission.
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Posted August 25, 2020.
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Ferrets not infected by SARS-CoV-2 in a high-exposure domestic setting
Kaitlin Sawatzki, Nichola Hill, Wendy Puryear, Alexa Foss, Jonathon Stone, Jonathan Runstadler
bioRxiv 2020.08.21.254995; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.21.254995
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Ferrets not infected by SARS-CoV-2 in a high-exposure domestic setting
Kaitlin Sawatzki, Nichola Hill, Wendy Puryear, Alexa Foss, Jonathon Stone, Jonathan Runstadler
bioRxiv 2020.08.21.254995; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.08.21.254995

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