First Evidence of Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Domestic Rabbits

Matthieu Fritz (1) , Daphné de Riols de Fonclare (1) , Déborah Garcia (1) , Stéphanie Beurlet (2) , Pierre Becquart (1) , Serge Rosolen (3) , Alexandra Briend-Marchal (2) , Eric M. Leroy (1)

1 MIVEGEC - Maladies infectieuses et vecteurs : écologie, génétique, évolution et contrôle
2 Vebiotel - Laboratoire de Biologie Vétérinaire
3 Institut de la Vision

We tested 144 pet rabbits sampled in France between November 2020 and June 2021 for antibodies to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by microsphere immunoassay. We reported the first evidence of a natural SARS-CoV-2 infection in rabbits with a low observed seroprevalence between 0.7% and 1.4%

Mots clés: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; rabbits; pet rabbit; France; Luminex; serology; microsphere immunoassay; one health

Domaines: Médecine vétérinaire et santé animale; Santé publique et épidémiologie

Matthieu Fritz, Daphné de Riols de Fonclare, Déborah Garcia, Stéphanie Beurlet, Pierre Becquart, et al.. First Evidence of Natural SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Domestic Rabbits. Veterinary Sciences, 2022, 9 (2), pp.49. ⟨10.3390/vetsci9020049⟩. ⟨hal-03635487⟩