Vet World   Vol.16   June-2023  Article-2

Assessment and strategy development for SARS-CoV-2 screening in wildlife: A review

Background and Aim: Coronaviruses (members of the Coronaviridae family) are prominent in veterinary medicine, with several known infectious agents commonly reported. In contrast, human medicine has disregarded coronaviruses for an extended period. Within the past two decades, coronaviruses have caused three major outbreaks. One such outbreak was the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Over the 3-year COVID-19 outbreak, several instances of zooanthroponosis have been documented, which pose risks for virus modifications and possible re-emergence of the virus into the human population, causing a new epidemic and possible threats for vaccination or treatment failure. Therefore, widespread screening of animals is an essential technique for mitigating future risks and repercussions. However, mass detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wild animals might be challenging. In silico prediction modeling, experimental studies conducted on various animal species, and natural infection episodes recorded in various species might provide information on the potential threats to wildlife. They may be useful for diagnostic and mass screening purposes. In this review, the possible methods of wildlife screening, based on experimental data and environmental elements that might play a crucial role in its effective implementation, are reviewed.

Keywords: angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, coronavirus disease 2019 in animals, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2, wildlife surveillance.

How to cite this article: Italiya J, Bhavsar T, and Černý J (2023) Assessment and strategy development for SARS-CoV-2 screening in wildlife: A review, Veterinary World, 16(6): 1193-1200.

Received: 19-01-2023  Accepted: 04-05-2023     Published online: 04-06-2023

Corresponding author: Jiří Černý   E-mail: jiricerny@ftz.czu.cz

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2023.1193-1200

Copyright: Italiya, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.