부산대학교 도서관

Simple Summary: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the causative agent of COVID-19 disease, has been reported to infect multiple animal species besides humans. In this study, SARS-CoV-2 infection with two viral variants; alpha and delta in two separate infection waves among the large cats housed in the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium during the 2021–2022 pandemic is described. In March 2021, all but one of the lions exhibited clinical signs consistent with SARS-CoV-2 infection coinciding with the infection of an animal keeper. Viral shedding was detected during the infection phase. In December 2022, during the second phase, SARS-CoV-2 infection occurred in tigers and lynx along with a likely reinfection of lions. In the infected animals exhibiting clinical signs, the signs lasted up to 6 weeks and viral shedding in feces was variable. Virus genome sequencing indicated that the alpha variant and the delta variant were responsible for the first and second waves of infection in the zoo animals, respectively, and the viruses were closely related to variants circulating in human populations at the time of infection. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been reported in multiple animal species besides humans. The goal of this study was to report clinical signs, infection progression, virus detection and antibody response in a group of wild felids housed in adjacent but neighboring areas at the Pittsburgh Zoo. Initially, five African lions (Panthera leo krugeri) housed together exhibited respiratory clinical signs with viral shedding in their feces in March of 2021 coinciding with infection of an animal keeper. During the second infection wave in December 2021, four Amur tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and a Canadian lynx (Lynx canadensis) showed clinical signs and tested positive for viral RNA in feces. In infected animals, viral shedding in feces was variable lasting up to 5 weeks and clinical signs were observed for up to 4 weeks. Despite mounting an antibody response to initial exposure, lions exhibited respiratory clinical signs during the second infection wave, but none shed the virus in their feces. The lions were positive for alpha variant (B.1.1.7 lineage) during the first wave and the tiger and lynx were positive for delta variant (AY.25.1. lineage) during the second wave. The viruses recovered from felids were closely related to variants circulating in human populations at the time of the infection. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in the park did not show either the clinical signs or the antibody response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]