Coronavirus in Animals and Zoonotic Links

Coronavirus can cause disease in several species of domestic and wild animals, as well as humans. The different animal species that are infected with CoV include horses, camels, cattle, swine, dogs, cats, rodents, birds, ferrets, minks, bats, rabbits, snakes, and various other wild animals. Coronavirus infection is linked to different kinds of clinical manifestations, varying from enteritis in cows and pigs, upper respiratory disease in chickens, and fatal respiratory infections in humans.

Among the CoV genera, Aplhacoronavirus and Betacoronavirus infect mammals, while Deltacoronavirus mainly infect birds, fishes and sometimes, mammals. Several novel coronaviruses that come under the genus Deltacoronavirus have been in the past from birds, like Wigeon coronavirus HKU20, Bulbul coronavirus HKU11, Munia coronavirus HKU13, white-eye coronavirus HKU16, night-heron coronavirus HKU19, and common moorhen coronavirus HKU21, as well as from pigs (porcine coronavirus HKU15). Transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV), porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV), and porcine hemagglutinating encephalomyelitis virus (PHEV) are some of the coronaviruses of swine. Among them TGEV and PDEV are responsible for causing severe gastroenteritis in young piglets with noteworthy morbidity and mortality. Infection with PHEV also causes enteric infection but can cause encephalitis due to its ability to infect the nervous system.