RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Evidence for a Potential Pre-Pandemic SARS-like Coronavirus Among Animals in North America
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.12.17.473265
DO 10.1101/2021.12.17.473265
A1 Trevor J. Hancock
A1 Peyton Hickman
A1 Niloo Kazerooni
A1 Melissa Kennedy
A1 Stephen A. Kania
A1 Michelle Dennis
A1 Nicole Szafranski
A1 Richard Gerhold
A1 Chunlei Su
A1 Tom Masi
A1 Stephen Smith
A1 Tim E. Sparer
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/12/20/2021.12.17.473265.abstract
AB In late 2019, a novel coronavirus began circulating within humans in central China. It was designated SARS-CoV-2 because of its genetic similarities to the 2003 SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Now that SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide, there is a risk of it establishing new animal reservoirs and recombination with native circulating coronaviruses. To screen local animal populations in the United States for exposure to SARS-like coronaviruses, we developed a serological assay using the receptor binding domain (RBD) from SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2’s RBD differs from common human and animal coronaviruses allowing us to identify animals previously infected with SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2. Using an indirect ELISA for SARS-CoV-2’s RBD, we screened serum from wild and domestic animals for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2’s RBD. Surprisingly pre-pandemic feline serum samples submitted to the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital were ∼70% positive for anti-SARS RBD antibodies. This was independent of prior infection with a feline coronavirus (FCoV), eliminating the possibility of FCoV cross-reactivity. We also identified several white-tailed deer from South Carolina that were also positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. These results bring up an intriguing possibility of a circulating agent (likely a coronavirus) with enough similarity to the SARS RBD to generate cross-reactive antibodies. Finding seropositive cats and white-tailed deer prior to the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, further highlights our lack of information about circulating coronaviruses in other species.