Reindeer, dolphins most at risk for COVID-19, study finds. What about other animals?
We know dogs and cats are susceptible to coronavirus infection, and scientists suspect the disease originated in bats, according to Yahoo! Life.
But a new study found other animals are even more at risk for COVID-19 infection, especially mammals.
The researchers studied the genetic sequence that acts as the main receptor for the coronavirus in 410 vertebrate species, the study says. They included 252 mammals, 72 birds, 65 fish, four amphibians and 17 reptiles, according to the study, which was published Aug. 21 in the peer-reviewed journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.
After comparing each species’ genetic sequence to that of humans, the researchers classified the animals into five categories based on their similarity to humans, which determined their vulnerability to infection, the study said. The categories were very low, low, medium, high and very high, according to the study.
Out of all the different animals, mammals were the only group that “fell into the medium to very high categories and only catarrhine primates into the very high category, suggesting that they are at high risk for [COVID-19] infection,” the study said. “Orangutans, gorillas and chimpanzees” are usually classified as catarrhine primates, according to FOX News.
The 18 species that were “predicted as very high” were “old-world primates and great apes,” which had identical proteins in their genetic sequences compared to humans, the study says.
There was more variation among the 28 animal species in the “high-risk” category, the study showed. Twelve were from the whale and dolphin species, seven were rodents, three were species of deer — including reindeer — three were lemurs, two represented the “order” of “giant anteaters” and “southern tamandua,” and one was an old-world primate, according to the study.
Domestic cats and Siberian tigers were rated as “medium,” the study says. “Domesticated cattle, bison, sheep, goat, water buffalo, Masai giraffe, and Tibetan antelope” also scored medium on the researchers’ scale.
Researchers found “experimental data consistently show(ed) that dogs are not readily infected or symptomatic,” the report says.
While scientists have speculated that the COVID-19 originated in bats, analysis showed they “are evolving to tolerate SARS-CoV-2-like viruses,” the study says. Bats scored low or very low, which researchers called “intriguing” because they are “major suspects in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, or a closely related virus, to humans,” according to the study.
“Among the species, we found with the highest risk for SARS-CoV-2 infection are wildlife and endangered species,” the study said. “These species represent an opportunity for spillover of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to other susceptible animals.”
The researchers hope that these new developments will provide a greater understanding and lay a foundation for future studies, they said in the report.
“If confirmed by additional experimental data, [the study] may lead to the identification of intermediate host species for SARS-CoV-2, guide the selection of animal models of COVID-19, and assist the conservation of animals both in native habitats and in human care,” the study says.
This story was originally published August 27, 2020 at 8:17 PM.