Review of SARS-CoV-2 Outbreak in Lions, Tigers, and Hyenas at Denver Zoo

IIn late 2021, an outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 affected lions, tigers, and hyenas at the Denver Zoo. This study tracked the virus in these animals over a period of four months, revealing important details about the dynamics of the infection in zoo animals.

Lions were found to have significantly higher levels of viral RNA (vRNA) in nasal swabs compared to tigers and hyenas, with many lions experiencing viral recrudescence—where the virus reappears after being undetectable for weeks. Infectious virus was most commonly detected in animals with high vRNA levels and earlier during infection.

The virus detected in the zoo animals was of the Delta lineage (AY.20), which was circulating in less than 1% of humans in Colorado at the time. This suggests a single spillover event from an infected human that led to interspecies transmission among the animals housed at the zoo.

Despite the viral infection, all the animals generated robust neutralizing antibody responses by four months post-infection, indicating they had developed some level of immunity.

This study is crucial for understanding the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in animal populations, especially in zoo settings, and highlights the importance of continued monitoring to protect both animal and human health.

Read full article here: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/msphere.00989-24?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed