Rebecca Earnest, Anne M Hahn, Nicole M Feriancek, Matthew Brandt, Renata B Filler, Zhe Zhao, Mallery I Breban, Chantal B F Vogels, Nicholas F G Chen, Robert T Koch, Abbey J Porzucek, Afeez Sodeinde, Alexa Garbiel, Claire Keanna, Hannah Litwak, Heidi R Stuber, Jamie L Cantoni, Virginia E Pitzer, Ximena A Olarte Castillo, Laura B Goodman, Craig B Wilen, Megan A Linske, Scott C Williams, Nathan D Grubaugh
Diverse mammalian species display susceptibility to and infection with SARS-CoV-2. Potential SARS-CoV-2 spillback into rodents is understudied despite their host role for numerous zoonoses and human proximity. We assessed exposure and infection among white-footed mice ( Peromyscus leucopus ) in Connecticut, USA. We observed 1% (6/540) wild-type neutralizing antibody seroprevalence among 2020-2022 residential mice with no cross-neutralization of variants. We detected no SARS-CoV-2 infections via RT-qPCR, but identified non-SARS-CoV-2 betacoronavirus infections via pan-coronavirus PCR among 1% (5/468) of residential mice...
September 27, 2023: bioRxiv