No Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Neotropical Primates Sampled During COVID-19 Pandemic in Minas Gerais and Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
Filipe Vieira Santos de AbreuMariana Viana MacedoAlex Junio Jardim da SilvaCirilo Henrique de OliveiraVinícius Oliveira de OttoneMarco Antônio Barreto de AlmeidaEdmilson Dos SantosJader Cruz da CardosoAline Scarpellini CamposClaudia Maria Dornelles da SilvaAmanda Gonzales da SilvaMiguel Souza de AndradeValéria Magro Octaviano BernisWalter Octaviano Bernis FilhoGiliane Souza de TrindadeGeorge Rego AlbuquerqueAnaiá Paixão da SeváBergmann Morais RibeiroDanilo Simonini TeixeiraFabrício Souza CamposAna Cláudia FrancoPaulo Michel RoeheDanilo Bretas de OliveiraPublished in: EcoHealth (2021)
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.