Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Mar 12:18:100709.
doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2024.100709. eCollection 2024 Jun.

SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV -2 cross-reactive antibodies in domestic animals and wildlife in Nigeria suggest circulation of sarbecoviruses

Ebere R Agusi  1   2 , Jacob Schön  3 , Valerie Allendorf  3 , Emmanuel A Eze  2 , Olayinka Asala  1 , Ismaila Shittu  1 , Anne Balkema-Buschmann  3 , Kerstin Wernike  3 , Ishaya Tekki  1 , Mark Ofua  4 , Omowunmi Adefegha  5 , Oluwatoyin Olubade  1 , Oluyemi Ogunmolawa  1 , Klaas Dietze  3 , Anja Globig  3 , Donata Hoffmann  3 , Clement A Meseko  1
Affiliations

SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV -2 cross-reactive antibodies in domestic animals and wildlife in Nigeria suggest circulation of sarbecoviruses

Ebere R Agusi et al. One Health. .

Abstract

Anthropogenic exposure of domestic animals, as well as wildlife, can result in zoonotic transmission events with known and unknown pathogens including sarbecoviruses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals, most likely resulting from spill-over from humans, have been documented worldwide. However, only limited information is available for Africa. The anthropozoonotic transmission from humans to animals, followed by further inter- and intraspecies propagation may contribute to viral evolution, and thereby subsequently alter the epidemiological patterns of transmission. To shed light on the possible role of domestic animals and wildlife in the ecology and epidemiology of sarbecoviruses in Nigeria, and to analyze the possible circulation of other, undiscovered, but potentially zoonotic sarbecoviruses in animals, we tested 504 serum samples from dogs, rabbits, bats, and pangolins collected between December 2020 and April 2022. The samples were analyzed using an indirect multi-species enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on the receptor binding domain (RBD) of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV -2, respectively. ELISA reactive sera were further analyzed by highly specific virus neutralization test and indirect immunofluorescence assay for confirmation of the presence of antibodies. In this study, we found SARS-CoV reactive antibodies in 16 (11.5%) dogs, 7 (2.97%) rabbits, 2 (7.7%) pangolins and SARS-CoV-2 reactive antibodies in 20 (13.4%) dogs, 6 (2.5%) rabbits and 2 (7.7%) pangolins, respectively. Interestingly, 2 (2.3%) bat samples were positive only for SARS-CoV RBD reactive antibodies. These serological findings of SARS-CoV and/or SARS-CoV-2 infections in both domestic animals and wildlife indicates exposure to sarbecoviruses and requires further One Health-oriented research on the potential reservoir role that different species might play in the ecology and epidemiology of coronaviruses at the human-animal interface.

Keywords: Nigeria; One Health; SARS-CoV-2; Sarbecovirus; Serology; Zoonosis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Periods of sample collection, aligned with the daily new confirmed cases per million people in Nigeria as reported on ourworldindata.com [46]; highlighted in orange, is the time period of the rabbit sampling; highlighted in blue, the periods of sampling of dogs; and highlighted in green, the period of sampling of Eidolon helvum. (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Map of Nigeria, indicating the federal states in which sampling took place by species (colors), and where at least one of the investigated sera yielded in a positive result in the RBD ELISA (star / diamond).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Results of the indirect multi-species ELISA of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 per species and individuum. Results of the individual sera for each of the tests are connected with a thin grey line. OD values of 0.2 to 0.3 (grey horizontal bar) are regarded as borderline, values >0.3 are interpreted as positive.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Results of ELISA, iIFA and VNT to SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 in comparison. Each line represents the serum of one individual, ordered by species. Colors show the reactiveness of the sera in each test (columns). White space means that the respective serum was not analyzed in the specific test.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

  • Applied One Health: Nigeria National Veterinary Research Institute COVID-19 pandemic response.
    Meseko CA, Shittu I, Asala OO, Adedeji AJ, Laleye TA, Agusi ER, Gado DA, Olawuyi KA, Mkpuma N, Chinonyerem C, Inuwa B, Chima N, Akintola R, Nyango P, Luka H, Bakam J, Atai R, Kabantiyok D, Samson M, Daniel T, Oyetunde J, Owolodun OA, Lazarus DD, Obishakin ET, Luka PD, Audu BJ, Makama S, Ularamu HG, Wungak YS, Ahmed JS, Ocholi RA, Muhammad M. Meseko CA, et al. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 2024 Sep 4;91(2):e1-e6. doi: 10.4102/ojvr.v91i2.2156. Onderstepoort J Vet Res. 2024. PMID: 39354784 Free PMC article.

References

    1. World Health Organization WHO Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. 2023. https://covid19.who.int Available online: (accessed 2023-09-08)
    1. Elimian K.O., Ochu C.L., Ilori E., Oladejo J., Igumbor E., Steinhardt L., Wagai J., Arinze C., Ukponu W., Obiekea C., Aderinola O., Crawford E., Olayinka A., Dan-Nwafor C., Okwor T., Disu Y., Yinka-Ogunleye A., Kanu N.E., Olawepo O.A., Aruna O., Michael C.A., Dunkwu L., Ipadeola O., Naidoo D., Umeokonkwo C.D., Matthias A., Okunromade O., Badaru S., Jinadu A., Ogunbode O., Egwuenu A., Jafiya A., Dalhat M., Saleh F., Ebhodaghe G.B., Ahumibe A., Yashe R.U., Atteh R., Nwachukwu W.E., Ezeokafor C., Olaleye D., Habib Z., Abdus-Salam I., Pembi E., John D., Okhuarobo U.J., Assad H., Gandi Y., Muhammad B., Nwagwogu C., Nwadiuto I., Sulaiman K., Iwuji I., Okeji A., Thliza S., Fagbemi S., Usman R., Mohammed A.A., Adeola-Musa O., Ishaka M., Aketemo U., Kamaldeen K., Obagha C.E., Akinyode A.O., Nguku P., Mba N., Ihekweazu C. Descriptive epidemiology of coronavirus disease 2019 in Nigeria. Epidemiology & Infection. 2020;148:E208. doi: 10.1017/S095026882000206X. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Akande O.W., Elimian K.O., Igumbor E., Dunkwu L., Kaduru C., Olopha O.O., Ohanu D.O., Nwozor L., Agogo E., Aruna O., Balogun M.S., Aderinola O., Ahumibe A., Arinze C., Badaru S.O., Nwachukwu W., Dada A.O., Erameh C., Hamza K., Mohammed T.B., Ndodo N., Obiekea C., Ofoegbunam C., Ogunbode O., Ohonsi C., Tobin E.A., Yashe R., Adekaiyaoja A., Asuzu M.C., Audu R.A., Bello M.B., Bello S.O., Deeni Y.Y., Disu Y., Joseph G., Ezeokafor C., Habib Z.G., Ibeh C., Ike F., Iwara E., Luka-Lawal R.K., Namara G., Okwor T., Olajide L., Ilesanmi O.O., Omonigho S., Oyiri F., Takpa K., Ugbogulu N.U., Ibekwe P., Oladejo J., Ilori E., Ochu C.L., Ihekweazu C. Epidemiological comparison of the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria, February 2020-April 2021. BMJ Glob Heal. 2021;6(11):1–14. doi: 10.1136/bmjgh-2021-007076. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Burki T.K. Undetected COVID-19 cases in Africa. Lancet Respir. Med. 2021;9(12) doi: 10.1016/S2213-2600(21)00504-X. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Frazzini S., Amadori M., Turin L., Riva F. SARS CoV-2 infections in animals, two years into the pandemic. Arch. Virol. 2022;167(12):2503–2517. doi: 10.1007/s00705-022-05609-1. (Epub 2022 Oct 7. PMID: 36207554; PMCID: PMC9543933) - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources