In vitro Zoo helps in understanding SARS-CoV-2

SARS-CoV-2 infected airway epithelial cell (AEC) cultures from diverse mammalian species. Only AEC cultures from Rhesus Macaques and cats show the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infected cells ( green ). IFIK / UniBE A team of researchers from the Institute for Infectious Diseases (IFIK) at the University of Bern and the Institute of Virology and Immunology (IVI) have used a unique collection of advanced cell culture models of cells lining the airways from various domesticated and wildlife animals to determine which animals are susceptibly to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The team found that SARS-CoV-2 efficiently infected respiratory cells from monkey and cats, and proposes that SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in these animals and its close relatives is necessary. Since the beginning of the pandemic, several reports have indicated that SARS-CoV-2 spillover events have occurred from humans to animals, as evidenced by the transmission of the virus between keepers and tigers and lions in the Bronx Zoo in New York. However, to date, the full range of animal species that are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection remains unclear. Typically, such information could be obtained by experimentally infecting a large variety of animal species with SARS-CoV-2 to see if they are susceptible.