COVID-19—Zoonosis or Emerging Infectious Disease?



Haider, Najmul, Rothman-Ostrow, Peregrine ORCID: 0000-0001-9711-751X, Osman, Abdinasir Yusuf, Arruda, Liã Bárbara, Macfarlane-Berry, Laura, Elton, Linzy, Thomason, Margaret J, Yeboah-Manu, Dorothy, Ansumana, Rashid, Kapata, Nathan
et al (show 6 more authors) (2020) COVID-19—Zoonosis or Emerging Infectious Disease? Frontiers in Public Health, 8. 596944-.

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Abstract

<jats:p>The World Health Organization defines a zoonosis as any infection naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. The pandemic of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been classified as a zoonotic disease, however, no animal reservoir has yet been found, so this classification is premature. We propose that COVID-19 should instead be classified an “<jats:italic>emerging infectious disease (EID) of probable animal origin</jats:italic>.” To explore if COVID-19 infection fits our proposed re-categorization vs. the contemporary definitions of zoonoses, we reviewed current evidence of infection origin and transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 virus and described this in the context of known zoonoses, EIDs and “spill-over” events. Although the initial one hundred COVID-19 patients were presumably exposed to the virus at a seafood Market in China, and despite the fact that 33 of 585 swab samples collected from surfaces and cages in the market tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, no virus was isolated directly from animals and no animal reservoir was detected. Elsewhere, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in animals including domesticated cats, dogs, and ferrets, as well as captive-managed mink, lions, tigers, deer, and mice confirming zooanthroponosis. Other than circumstantial evidence of zoonotic cases in mink farms in the Netherlands, no cases of natural transmission from wild or domesticated animals have been confirmed. More than 40 million human COVID-19 infections reported appear to be exclusively through human-human transmission. SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 do not meet the WHO definition of zoonoses. We suggest SARS-CoV-2 should be re-classified as an EID of probable animal origin.</jats:p>

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Animals, Animals, Wild, Humans, Communicable Diseases, Emerging, Zoonoses, World Health Organization, China, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 18 May 2021 10:02
Last Modified: 25 Oct 2023 11:49
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.596944
Open Access URL: http://10.0.13.61/fpubh.2020.596944
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3123159