CEEZAD study explores immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 in bison, elk and other captive wildlife species

 

An article co-authored by the Director of the Center of Excellence for Emerging and Zoonotic Animal Diseases (CEEZAD, www.ceezad.org) and the Center on Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (CEZID; https://www.k-state.edu/cezid/) examines immune responses against the SARS-CoV-2 virus in bison, elk and other captive wildlife species.

The article was co-authored by Dr. Juergen A. Richt, Regents and University Distinguished Professor at Kansas State University and director of CEEZAD and CEZID. It was published in the September edition of Animals.

Other co-authors include Igor Morozov, Natasha N Gaudreault, Roman Podgranichniy, Dashzeveg Bold, Mehrnaz Ardalan, and Konner Cool, all of the Department of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at Kansas State University and CEEZAD.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus responsible for COVID-19, has been found to infect various domestic and wild animal species. In this study, CEEZAD scientists collected and analyzed serum samples from 575 bison, 180 elk, and 147 samples from various wildlife species collected between 2020 and 2023 from several regions in the United States for the presence of SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies.

Two commercial ELISA assays, one based on the inhibition of the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (sVNT), the other on the detection of the nucleocapsid protein (N-ELISA) of SARS-CoV-2, were used. Positive samples from the sVNT were additionally evaluated using a conventional virus neutralization test (VNT). Our results indicated that 1.2% of bison, 2.2% of elk, and 4.1% of the other wildlife species serum samples were seropositive in the sVNT, whereas 4.2% of bison, 3.3% of elk, and 1.4% of the other captive wildlife species serum samples tested positive by the N-ELISA.

Among the sVNT serum samples, two samples from bison, one sample from elk, and five serum samples from other wildlife species (one cheetah, one gorilla, two lions, and one hippopotamus) had neutralizing antibody titers in the VNT, indicating these species are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

These findings highlight the importance of broad surveillance efforts for the effective monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in non-human hosts.