Animal Coronavirus Diseases: Parallels with COVID-19 in Humans

• Published in: Viruses Vol. 13; no. 8; p. 1507
• Main Authors: Lin, Chao-Nan, Chan, Kuan Rong, Ooi, Eng Eong, Chiou, Ming-Tang, Hoang, Minh, Hsueh, Po-Ren, Ooi, Peck Toung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 30.07.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: animal coronavirus; Animal Diseases - epidemiology; Animal Diseases - virology; Animals; Coronaviridae; Coronavirus - genetics; Coronavirus - physiology; Coronavirus Infections - epidemiology; Coronavirus Infections - veterinary; Coronavirus Infections - virology; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - virology; COVID-19 infection; DIVA; Feline infectious peritonitis; genome; Genomes; Hogs; Humans; Immunopathogenesis; livestock and meat industry; Middle East respiratory syndrome; Mortality; Mutation; Pandemics; Peritonitis; Public Health; Recombination; Respiratory diseases; Review; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS-CoV-2 - physiology; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; therapeutics; Viruses; China; COVID-19; DIVA; immunopathogenesis; animal coronavirus
• ISSN: 1999-4915; 1999-4915
• DOI: 10.3390/v13081507

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel coronavirus in humans, has expanded globally over the past year. COVID-19 remains an important subject of intensive research owing to its huge impact on economic and public health globally. Based on historical archives, the first coronavirus-related disease recorded was possibly animal-related, a case of feline infectious peritonitis described as early as 1912. Despite over a century of documented coronaviruses in animals, the global animal industry still suffers from outbreaks. Knowledge and experience handling animal coronaviruses provide a valuable tool to complement our understanding of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In this review, we present an overview of coronaviruses, clinical signs, COVID-19 in animals, genome organization and recombination, immunopathogenesis, transmission, viral shedding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. By drawing parallels between COVID-19 in animals and humans, we provide perspectives on the pathophysiological mechanisms by which coronaviruses cause diseases in both animals and humans, providing a critical basis for the development of effective vaccines and therapeutics against these deadly viruses.