Map. Results of published SARS-CoV-2 events in animals up to 5 March 2024 at national level, over a cumulative COVID-19 human cases background map

Recent publications

Agüero, B., Berrios, F., Pardo-Roa, C., Ariyama, N., Bennett, B., Medina, R. A., & Neira, V. (2024). First detection of Omicron variant BA.4.1 lineage in dogs, Chile. The veterinary quarterly, 44(1), 1–10. [reference]. This study assessed 65 pets (26 dogs and 39 cats) from 33 COVID-19 positive households alongside 700 nasal swabs from animals in households with unknown COVID-19 status, three dogs (all from COVID-19 positive households) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-PCR. Genomic analysis revealed infection with pangolin BA.4.1 lineage.

Bianco, A., Bortolami, A., Miccolupo, A., Sottili, R., Ghergo, P., Castellana, S., Del Sambro, L., Capozzi, L., Pagliari, M., Bonfante, F., Ridolfi, D., Bulzacchelli, C., Giannico, A., & Parisi, A. (2023). SARS-CoV-2 in Animal Companions: A Serosurvey in Three Regions of Southern Italy. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 13(12), 2354. [reference]. This study found two SARS-CoV-2 seropositive dogs using ELISA and PRNT tests out of 740 companion dogs sampled, suggesting that the virus had circulated among companion animals, even at a very low rate, in two of the three regions in southern Italy included in the study.

Earnest, R., Hahn, A. M., Feriancek, N. M., Brandt, M., Filler, R. B., Zhao, Z., […], & Grubaugh, N. D. (2023). Survey of white-footed mice in Connecticut, USA reveals low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and infection with divergent betacoronaviruses. bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology, 2023.09.22.559030. [reference]. This field study observed 1% (6/540) wild-type SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibody seroprevalence among residential white footed mice with no cross-neutralization of variants, none of the sampled mice tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA.

Fernández-Figueroa, E. A., Espinosa-Martínez, D. V., Miranda-Ortiz, H., Ruiz-García, E., Figueroa-Esquivel, J. M., Becerril-Moctezuma, M. L., Muñoz-Rivas, A., & Ríos-Muñoz, C. A. (2024). Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in companion animals from owners who tested positive for COVID-19 in the Valley of Mexico. Molecular biology reports, 51(1), 186. [reference]. This study confirmed shedding of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from five companion dogs owned by previous COVID-19 patients.

Ghai, R. R., Straily, A., Wineland, N., Calogero, J., Stobierski, M. G., […], & Barton Behravesh, C. (2023). Epidemiologic and Genomic Evidence for Zoonotic Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among People and Animals on a Michigan Mink Farm, United States, 2020. Viruses, 15(12), 2436. [reference]. This study describes the epidemiological and molecular investigations conducted in response to suspected SARS-CoV-2 spillover from humans to mink.

Gómez, J. C., Cano-Terriza, D., Segalés, J., Vergara-Alert, J., Zorrilla, I., [...], & García-Bocanegra, I. (2024). Exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus). Veterinary microbiology, 290, 110001. [reference]. This SARS-CoV-2 serosurveillance study conducted between 2019 and 2022 targeting in 276 free-ranging and captive Iberian lynxes. The results evidenced limited (0.4%; 95%CI: 0.0-1.1) seroprevalence.

González-Aravena, M., Galban-Malagon, C., Castro-Nallar, E., Barriga, G.P., Neira, V., Krüger, L., Adell, A.D., & Olivares-Pacheco, J. (2024). Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Associated with Scientific Stations in Antarctica and Possible Risk for Wildlife. Preprints. [reference]. This study explores the potential for reverse zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to Antarctic wildlife due to the direct release of viral particles into seawater. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in effluent from two wastewater plants at Maxwell Bay and O’Higgins Station on King George Island and the Antarctic Peninsula, respectively.

Musoles-Cuenca, B., Aguiló-Gisbert, J., Lorenzo-Bermejo, T., Canales, R., Ballester, B., Romani-Cremaschi, U., Martínez-Valverde, R., Maiques, E., Marteles, D., Rueda, P., Rubio, V., Villanueva-Saz, S., & Rubio-Guerri, C. (2023). Molecular and Serological Studies on Potential SARS-CoV-2 Infection among 43 Lemurs under Human Care-Evidence for Past Infection in at Least One Individual. Animals: an open access journal from MDPI, 14(1), 140. [reference]. Oral and rectal swabs samples and sera from 23 black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata) and 20 ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) in Spain tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and antibodies.

Porter, S. M., Hartwig, A. E., Bielefeldt-Ohmann, H., Marano, J. M., Root, J. J., & Bosco-Lauth, A. M. (2024). Experimental SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Elk and Mule Deer. Emerging infectious diseases, 30(2), 354–357. [reference]. This experimental infection study demonstrated high susceptibility of Mule deer to Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2, while Elk demonstrated low susceptibility.

Takemura, T., Ankhanbaatar, U., Settypalli, T. B. K., Purevtseren, D., Shura, G., Damdinjav, B., Ben Ali, H. O. A., Dundon, W. G., Cattoli, G., & Lamien, C. E. (2024). SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Beaver Farm, Mongolia, 2021. Emerging infectious diseases, 30(2), 391–394. [reference]. This investigation study reports an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 (Delta variant) in a beaver farm in Mongolia in 2021. Genomic characterization revealed a unique combination of mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1a and ORF1b.

Tavera, A., Bazalar, J., Silvestre, T., Leiva, M., Rodríguez, C., Carhuaricra, D., Luna, L., Maturrano, A. (2024). Possible Spreading of SARS-CoV-2 from Humans to Captive Non-Human Primates in the Peruvian Amazon. Animals, 14, 732. [reference]. This study represents the first documented instance of molecular SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in non-human primates in the Peruvian Amazon.

FAO publications

• GLEWS+ Risk Assessment entitled SARS-CoV-2 in animals used for fur farming published on 20 January 2021. This Tripartite Risk Assessment evaluates the risk of introduction and spread of SARS-CoV-2 within fur farming systems as well as whether farmed fur animals could play a significant role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 to humans via spillover. The publication has been translated in other UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian, Spanish).
• COVID-19 and animals: Information on risk mitigation measures for livestock and agricultural professionals published on 08 January 2021. In response to the growing concern caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 variant strain related to minks, the guidelines raise awareness amongst livestock professionals about highly susceptible captive farmed wild or domestic species and provide practical guidelines on how to prevent the infection of animals or get infected.
• Supplementary tables which summarize the predicted susceptibility of ~500 animal species to SARS-CoV-2, based on the available studies on ACE2. This have been included in the publication Exposure of humans or animals to SARS-CoV-2 from wild, livestock, companion and aquatic animals published in July 2020 and its summary.
• Recommendations for the epidemiological investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in exposed animals, with a supplementary document Investigating potential recombination of MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 or other coronaviruses in camels, both published in November 2021. 
• Guidelines to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on livestock production and animal health published in 2020: Describe the impact of COVID-19 on livestock production and animal disease prevention and control and provide practical recommendations for actors along value chains to reduce this impact and ensure continuity of the livestock supply chain and animal health.
• Impact of COVID-19 on the delivery of veterinary services and animal disease reporting published in 2021: Survey to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected the routine activities of animal disease reporting and surveillance for early detection in the countries using EMA-i (Event Mobile Application).

FAO actions

Global level

• The coronavirus network (COVINET) meeting will be organized on 26-27 March in Geneva. FAO and representatives from the their reference centers on zoonotic coronaviruses will attend the meeting.
• FAO, WHO, WOAH and UNEP have organized the Quadripartite Global Technical Meeting on MERS-CoV and Other Emerging Zoonotic Coronaviruses, held from 27-29 November in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• FAO takes part in regular WHO virus evolution group meetings to discuss latest findings on SARS-CoV-2 variants of interest and variants of concern.
• FAO attended the WHO technical workshop on regional surveillance of pathogens with epidemic and pandemic potential in mink from the WHO European Region: lessons learned and way forward, organized from 29 to 30 March 2023, Copenhagen, Denmark.
• The FAO/WOAH advisory group on SARS-CoV-2 evolution in animals held a call on the 9th of May 2023 to discuss the cryptic SARS-CoV-2 lineages detected in some mink farms.
• FAO has designated Reference Centres for Zoonotic Coronaviruses. To date, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie (IZSVe) and Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e del Molise Giuseppe Caporale (IZSAM), Italy (joint center), the Federal State-Financed Institution “The Federal Center for Animal Health” (FSVPS-FGBI ARRIAH), Russian Federation , CSIRO Australian Centre for Diseases Preparedness (ACDP), Australia, and Ohio State University Infectious Diseases Institute (OSU-IDI), USA, Institut de recherche pour le développement (IRD) and Centre de coopération internationale en recherche agronomique pour le développement (CIRAD) of France (joint center), and Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand have been appointed. Furthermore, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI),Germany designated as Reference Centre for Emerging Zoonotic Pathogens and High Biosecurity/ Biocontainment Facilities.
• On 7 March 2022, the Tripartite Organization (FAO/ WHO/WOAH) issued a joint statement on the prioritization of monitoring SARS-CoV-2 infection in wildlife and preventing the formation of animal reservoirs. [reference]
• FAO established a Letter of Agreement with Hong Kong University for MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 testing and capacity building for project countries.
• The Joint FAO/IAEA Centre (Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture) (CJN) is working, through its veterinary laboratory network in 69 countries, to support diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 in animals and monitoring of virus contamination in the environment.

Regional and national level

Within FAO’s COVID-19 Recovery and Response Programme, several projects are already in place as part of Preventing the Next Zoonotic Pandemic (PNP), that help countries to better prevent and mitigate risks related to SARS-CoV-2 at the animal-human interface and build national capacities in pandemic preparedness (see below for details).

Regional level

• FAO Regional Office for Asian and the Pacific (RAP):
• FAO produced a video about the COVID-19 response in Bangladesh, highlighting the collective support of the United Nations and partners under the leadership of the Government of Bangladesh. Thanks to the long partnership with USAID in addressing pandemic threats at source, FAO utilized its expertise to improve community-level case detection and risk mitigation during the public health emergency. USAID also funded the COVID-19 response project in Bangladesh. Watch the video here.
• Strengthening regional capacities to address COVID-19 impacts on animal health sector in East and Southeast Asia [April 2020 – September 2022]
• FAO ECTAD in Nepal has been monitoring of the sample collection for the companion animals for the testing of SARS-CoV-2, and providing technical guidance for sample collection, sample preservation and testing via ELISA. Training for laboratory testing of SARS-CoV-2 will be conducted in early 2023, followed by testing of collected samples in CVL.
• FAO ECTAD Indonesia with Directorate of Animal Health, Disease Investigation Center (DIC) in Subang and West Java provincial government continued risk profiling and sample collection of SARS-CoV-2 among civets in West Java province. Cross-sectoral meeting between national steering committee for One Health and stakeholders was conducted on 10-11 November 2022, and agreed to conduct epidemiology-laboratory analysis on information of civets and civet owners.
• FAO ECTAD Indonesia conducted an online meeting with Disease Investigation Centre (DIC) in Subang to discuss about the SARS-CoV-2 diagnosis from animal samples by PCR testing algorithm. Positive samples will be tested for whole genome sequencing in Illumina, whilst negative samples will be tested for Pan-coronavirus using PREDICT protocol. All positive samples will be also tested using nanopore technology at DIC Wates. Provision on nanopore reagents is ongoing.
• FAO Regional Office for Africa (RAF):
• Strengthening regional capacities to address negative impacts of COVID-19 on the animal health sector in Africa [June 2020 - June 2022].
• Support project for COVID-19 case detection and emergency response along livestock value chains in Cameroon [July 2020 - March 2021].

Through these projects and others, FAO is supporting countries in West and Central Africa since the beginning of the pandemic in mitigating negative impacts of COVID-19 by:

• Strengthening national animal disease surveillance systems through joint risk assessments at the animal-human-environment interface and trainings on field investigation, sample collection, shipment and transportation [since October 2020].
• Improving COVID-19 testing and reinforcing veterinary laboratories as effective tools for the detection of animal diseases. For instance, in Ghana, national veterinary laboratories actively supported public health laboratories in COVID-19 testing. FAO ECTAD Ghana also supported the installation of a Laboratory Information Management System (SILAB/LIMS) One Health module at the Accra Veterinary Laboratory to improve management of COVID-19 samples [since October 2020].
• Assisting the Governments such as in Cameroon to secure a Technical Cooperation Programme project to support COVID-19 detection and emergency response along the livestock value chain in Cameroon [since July 2020].

National level

• Cameroon:
• COVID-19 cases detection and reporting in livestock value chain actors in North-West and South-West regions, Cameroon [February – April 2021]
• Support project for COVID-19 cases detection and emergency response along livestock value chain in Cameroon [July 2020 – March 2021].
• Risk communication and community engagement plan for COVID-19 control, was developed and validated [March 2021].
• Cote d’Ivoire:
• As part of the surveillance for COVID-19, FAO supported the Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) in the detection, investigation, and follow-up testing of SARS-CoV-2 in domestic animals in contact with COVID-19 patients. Four veterinary clinics were involved in sample collection from animals received in care. A total of 52 samples were collected in four veterinary clinics and all were tested negative at Pasteur Institute of Cote d'Ivoire (IPCI) [September 2021].
• In collaboration with the national One Health Platform FAO conducted a joint risk assessment using a One Health approach (MoL , MoH and MoE) on COVID-19 and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza [October 2021].
• Ghana:
• A training was held for staff of the Accra Veterinary Laboratory on dissemination of existing biosecurity and biosafety guidelines and standard operating procedures for SARS-CoV-2 testing in Veterinary Laboratories [May 2021].
• Provision of 11 000 units of filtering face piece (FFP3) respirators on 3 December 2020 to the Ministry of Health in response to a request from the Government of Ghana, which aimed to protect health workers in the Ghana Health Service from COVID-19. This donation came at a time when the country was facing a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic [December 2020].
• A two-day advocacy awareness training was held for 30 multi-disciplinary stakeholders in the food value chains on the impacts of the COVID 19 pandemic on food security/nutrition and livelihoods [March 2021].
• A three-day training workshop “Training of bushmeat traders, hunters and wildlife exporters in Kumasi and Accra to create awareness on COVID-19 and other related Priority Zoonotic Diseases (PZDs) of wildlife with potential to spill over to humans from bush meat traders and consumers” was held in collaboration with the Veterinary Service Directorate (VSD) of the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA), Wildlife Division of the Forestry Commission, Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), Environmental Health Department (EHD), Ghana Health Service, and Ghana Police Service (GPS) [April 2021]
• Improving COVID-19 testing by reinforcing veterinary laboratories (see under ‘Regional level’).
• Guinea: A total of 1 116 biological samples from 244 animals of various species (bat, rodent, swine and small ruminants) in 13 human-animal-environment interfaces were collected and all tested negative for Ebola and Marburg virus as well as for SARS-CoV-2 [May - June 2021].
• Liberia: Training and mentorship of staff on Biosafety and Biosecurity including COVID-19 bio-risk management [March 2022].
• Nigeria:
• A study was conducted to evaluate COVID-19-related risk communication; results indicated no COVID-19 related risk communication messaging was conducted with animal health professionals, even though there are efforts for other zoonoses. A suggestion was made to engage the One Health Risk Communication pillar to address this deficiency [June - July 2021].
• A workshop was held to discuss biosecurity and biosafety; guidelines and SOPs for COVID-19 were disseminated and discussed to establish a unified set of national guidelines [July 2021].
• Senegal:
• In collaboration with the national One Health Platform FAO conducted a joint risk assessment using a One Health approach (MoL , MoH and MoE) on Covid-19 and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza [February - April 2021].
• Surveillance and research activities at human-wildlife-livestock-ecosystem interface and their results were mapped and shared during a workshop with the OH platform to enhance multisectoral collaboration [June 2020 - July 2021].
• Guidelines elaborated by the National Park Direction were updated and disseminated, including Information, Education and Communication (IEC) materials for various audiences and stakeholders [February - April 2021].
• National Veterinary Laboratory readiness for SARS-COV-2 testing was assessed using the FAO Laboratory Mapping tools (LMT-Core, LMT-safety modules and LMT-COVID) and a Biorisk assessment was conducted, ensuring that capacities of laboratories are built to handle (collect, transport, store) samples with appropriate levels of biosecurity and biosafety of SARS-COV-2 testing [February - April 2021].
• Mali, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal: IESA - Mitigating the effects of Covid-19 on pastoral communities in West Africa [October 2020 – October 2022].
• Papua New Guinea: Emergency support to prevent and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 along the agricultural value chain [April 2021 – March 2022].
• Rwanda: TCPF: Support to Fostering the One Health Operationalization in Rwanda [May 2021 – April 2023].
• China: Emergency response to mitigate the impact of coronavirus (COVID-19) on the most vulnerable persons in rural areas in China [March 2020 – December 2022]
• Sultanate of Oman: Understanding and mitigating the risks of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from COVID-19 human patients to in-contact farmed and companion animals [June 2021 – December 2022].
• Collection of serum samples from 617 animals including camels, cattle, sheep and goats has been completed in June 2022, and the sera were submitted to the virology laboratory of Hong Kong University for testing using surrogate virus neutralization test; positive results (if any) will be confirmed by another assay.
• The laboratory testing was completed in August 2022 at the virology laboratory of the Hong Kong University. Sera of six animals, representing four species (cattle, camel, sheep, and goat), tested positive by both surrogate virus neutralization test and the plague reduction neutralization test 50.
• United Arab Emirates:
  • Detection of potential recombination of MERS-CoV with SARS-CoV-2 or other Coronaviruses in dromedary camels [October 2021 – April 2022].
  • Understanding and mitigating the risks of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from COVID-19 human patients to in-contact farmed and companion animals [December 2021 - December 2022].
  • The laboratory testing was completed in September 2022 at the animal health laboratory of the Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority (ADAFSA). Sera of 13 animals, representing three species (sheep, goats, and captive gazelles), had positive ELISA results, however, none of them tested positive by the surrogate virus neutralization test. All collected nasal swab samples tested negative for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-PCR. However, all collected sera of camels, tested for MERS CoV-Ab using ELISA, revealed that 164 of the 181 samples were positive (90.6%).

Important links

• FAO COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme - Preventing the next zoonotic pandemic
• FAO resources on COVID-19
• WOAH COVID-19 portal
• WHO COVID-19 dashboard
• UN COVID-19 portal
• UNEP COVID-19 materials
• CDC COVID-19 and animals
• NCBI SARS-CoV-2 resources
• Tracking SARS-CoV-2 variants

Disclaimer

Information provided herein is current as of the date of issue. Information added or changed since the last SARS-COV-2 animal situation update appears in orange. Human cases are depicted in the geographic location of their report. For some cases, exposure may have occurred in one geographic location but reported in another. For cases with unknown onset date, reporting date was used instead. FAO compiles information drawn from multiple national (Ministries of Agriculture or Livestock, Ministries of Health; Centers for Disease Prevention and Control [CDC]) and international sources (World Health Organization [WHO], World Organisation for Animal Health [WOAH]) as well as peer-reviewed scientific articles and preprints. FAO makes every effort to ensure, but does not guarantee, accuracy, completeness or authenticity of the information. The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on these map(s) do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.