COVID-19 pandemic: current knowledge about the role of pets and other animals in disease transmission
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REVIEW
COVID‑19 pandemic: current knowledge about the role of pets and other animals in disease transmission Mulugeta Kiros1* , Henok Andualem1 , Teklehaimanot Kiros1, Wasihun Hailemichael1 , Sisay Getu1, Alene Geteneh2, Derbie Alemu3 and Woldaregay Erku Abegaz4
Abstract On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19), a disease caused by a pathogen called Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a pandemic. This ongoing pandemic has now been reported in 215 countries with more than 23 million confirmed cases and more than 803 thousand deaths worldwide as of August 22, 2020. Although efforts are undergoing, there is no approved vaccine or any specific antiretroviral drug to treat COVID-19 so far. It is now known that SARS-CoV-2 can affect not only humans but also pets and other domestic and wild animals, making it a one health global problem. Several published scientific evidence has shown that bats are the initial reservoir hosts of SARS-CoV-2, and pangolins are suggested as an intermediate hosts. So far, little is known concerning the role of pets and other animals in the transmission of COVID19. Therefore, updated knowledge about the potential role of pets in the current outbreak will be of paramount importance for effective prevention and control of the disease. This review summarized the current evidence about the role of pets and other animals in the transmission of COVID-19. Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Pets, Domestic animals, Wild animals, One health, Animal model Background Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a group of viruses that belong to the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae in the family Coronaviridae, Order Nidovirales. They are classified into four genera based on their genetic properties within the subfamily Orthocoronavirinae, namely Alphacoronavirus (α-CoV), Betacoronavirus (β-CoV), Gammacoronavirus (γ-CoV), and Deltacoronavirus (δ-CoV) [1, 2]. Both αand β-CoV genera are known to infect mammals, whilst δ- and γ-CoVs infecting birds [1]. Seven CoVs, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) being the seventh member of the family, have been found to infect humans and cause *Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Debre Tabor University, Debre Tabor, Ethiopia Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
respiratory diseases so far. Among these, the common human CoVs (HCoVs) are HCoV-229E, HCoV-OC43, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-HKU1, and they usually lead to common self-limited upper respiratory disease [3]. On the other hand, the recently emerged SARS-CoV and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV (including SARS-CoV-2 are responsible for atypical pneumonia [1, 4]. Both the SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV emerged in humans in 2002 and 2012 respectively and resulted in global outbreaks. Early in December 2019, several patients with pneumonia of unknown etiology emerged in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, Centra
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