Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection in different animal species and human in Egypt during 2020-2021

Abstract Coronaviruses cause respiratory and intestinal infections in animals and humans. By the end of 2019, there was an epidemic of novel coronavirus (COVID-19), which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Coronaviruses have highly mutable genome that makes them genetically and phenotypically modifiable with a potential transmission to new host species. Based on current sequence databases, all human coronaviruses have animal origins so animals have important roles in virus spillover to humans. The aim of this study is to investigate the role of different animal species in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in Egypt. A pan-coronaviruses RT-PCR has been used for detection of possible coronaviruses infection in different species including bats, humans, birds, and dogs in Egypt during the period of November 2020 till June 2021. Ninety-two samples (46 from bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus), 10 from human, 26 from wild birds, and 10 from dogs) were screened for SARS-CoV-2. Our results revealed that only human samples were SARS-CoV-2 positive for SARS-CoV-2 while all other animal and bird samples were negative. To recapitulate, our results suggest that animals may not actively transmit SARS-CoV-2 among people in Egypt during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Further structural surveillance and follow up screening for SARS-CoV-2 among domestic and wild animal populations in Egypt is crucially needed.