COVID-19—Zoonosis or Emerging Infectious Disease?
Date
2020
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Frontiers
Abstract
The World Health Organization defines a zoonosis as any infection naturally transmissible
from vertebrate animals to humans. The pandemic of Coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been classified as a zoonotic disease, however, no animal
reservoir has yet been found, so this classification is premature. We propose that
COVID-19 should instead be classified an “emerging infectious disease (EID) of probable
animal origin.” To explore if COVID-19 infection fits our proposed re-categorization vs.
the contemporary definitions of zoonoses, we reviewed current evidence of infection
origin and transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 virus and described this in the context
of known zoonoses, EIDs and “spill-over” events. Although the initial one hundred
COVID-19 patients were presumably exposed to the virus at a seafood Market in
China, and despite the fact that 33 of 585 swab samples collected from surfaces and
cages in the market tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, no virus was isolated directly
from animals and no animal reservoir was detected. Elsewhere, SARS-CoV-2 has
been detected in animals including domesticated cats, dogs, and ferrets, as well as
captive-managed mink, lions, tigers, deer, and mice confirming zooanthroponosis. Other
than circumstantial evidence of zoonotic cases in mink farms in the Netherlands, no cases
of natural transmission from wild or domesticated animals have been confirmed. More
than 40 million human COVID-19 infections reported appear to be exclusively through
human-human transmission. SARS-CoV-2 virus and COVID-19 do not meet the WHO
definition of zoonoses. We suggest SARS-CoV-2 should be re-classified as an EID of
probable animal origin.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, zoonoses, emerging infectious disease (EID)
Citation
Haider N, Rothman-Ostrow P, Osman AY, Arruda LB, Macfarlane-Berry L, Elton L, Thomason MJ, Yeboah-Manu D, Ansumana R, Kapata N, Mboera L, Rushton J, McHugh TD, Heymann DL, Zumla A and Kock RA (2020) COVID-19—Zoonosis or Emerging Infectious Disease? Front. Public Health 8:596944. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2020.596944