Traceable Surveillance and Genetic Diversity Analysis of Coronaviruses in Poultry from China in 2019

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread worldwide. This new emerging pathogen is highly transmittable and can cause fatal disease. More than 35 million cases have been confirmed and the fatality was about 2.9% up to October 9 2020. However, the original and intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 remain unknown. Here, a total of 3160 poultry samples collected from 14 provinces between September and December 2019 in China were tested for the purpose of traceable surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The results indicated that all samples were SARS-CoV-2 negative, and a total of 593 avian coronaviruses were detected, including 485 avian infectious bronchitis viruses, 72 duck coronaviruses and 36 pigeon coronaviruses. The positive rates of avian infectious bronchitis virus, duck coronavirus, and pigeon coronavirus were 15.35%, 2.28% and 1.14%, respectively. Our surveillance demonstrated the diversities of avian coronaviruses in China, and higher prevalence were also recognized in some regions. The possibility of SARS-CoV-2 originating from the known avian-origin coronaviruses can be preliminarily ruled out. More surveillance and research on avian coronaviruses should be strengthened for better understanding the diversity, distribution, cross-species transmission and clinical significance of these viruses.