No Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Neotropical Primates Sampled During COVID-19 Pandemic in Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

Ecohealth. 2021 Dec;18(4):414-420. doi: 10.1007/s10393-021-01569-1. Epub 2021 Nov 29.

Abstract

In 2019, a new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was detected in China. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was capable to infect domestic and captive mammals like cats, tigers and minks. Due to genetic similarities, concern about the infection of non-human primates (NHPs) and the establishment of a sylvatic cycle has grown in the Americas. In this study, neotropical primates (NP) were sampled in different areas from Brazil to investigate whether they were infected by SARS-CoV-2. A total of 89 samples from 51 NP of four species were examined. No positive samples were detected via RT-qPCR, regardless of the NHP species, tissue or habitat tested. This work provides the first report on the lack of evidence of the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in NP. The expansion of wild animals sampling is necessary to understand their role in the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 and other potentially zoonotic pathogens in natural environments shared by humans.

Keywords: Alouatta; Callithrix; Coronavirus; nonhuman-primate; spillback; spillover.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Brazil
  • COVID-19*
  • Humans
  • Pandemics*
  • Primates
  • SARS-CoV-2