Updated: 27 August 2020 9:25:21 AM
A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York tested positive for Covid-19 in April. (Express photo: Arul Horizon / Representation).
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, there have been widespread reports of a few animals – cats, dogs, tigers – being infected with the new coronavirus, mostly transmitted by humans. Now, researchers have published a comprehensive analysis of the relative potential risks that 410 animal species have. The findings, drawn from a genomic study, are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States.
So, what are some risks?
The 410 species analyzed are vertebrates – birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
At the highest level of risk of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, are several primate species. Some are critically endangered species – such as the western lowland gorilla, and Sumatran orangutan. Other species at “very high risk” of infection include the chimpanzee and rhesus macaque.
At “high risk” are species such as blue-eyed black lemur and common bottlenose dolphin.
Source: Matt Verdolivo / US Davis
What about pets?
Previous studies have shown that cats and dogs can contract the virus from humans, and that cats are at greater risk than dogs. In the new study, it was found that cats, along with other pets such as cattle and sheep, have a medium risk. Dogs, along with horses and pigs, were found to be at low risk.
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How does the study find out all this?
The findings are based on an analysis of ACE2 – the enzyme on our cell surface that allows SARS-CoV-2 to infect human cells. In humans, 25 amino acids of ACE2 are important for the virus to bind to the cell. The researchers used modeling to evaluate how many of these amino acids are found in the ACE2 enzyme of other species. If a species showed a similarity with all these 25 amino acid residues, it was predicted to carry the highest risk. The fewer the matches with the human ACE2, the lower the risk of infection.
How important are these findings?
The risk was assessed for ACE2 binding, not for actual infection. In a statement issued by the University of California-Davis, the authors called for caution against interpreting the predicted risks based on computational results; the actual risks can only be confirmed with additional experimental data. However, they found that in cats, dogs and tigers that are infected, the virus can use ACE2 receptors, as well as receptors other than ACE2.
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