Traceable Surveillance and Genetic Diversity Analysis of Coronaviruses
in Poultry from China in 2019
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory
syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was first reported in Wuhan, China,
and rapidly spread worldwide. This new emerging pathogen is highly
transmittable and can cause fatal disease. More than 35 million cases
have been confirmed and the fatality was about 2.9% up to October 9
2020. However, the original and intermediate hosts of SARS-CoV-2 remain
unknown. Here, a total of 3160 poultry samples collected from 14
provinces between September and December 2019 in China were tested for
the purpose of traceable surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The
results indicated that all samples were SARS-CoV-2 negative, and a total
of 593 avian coronaviruses were detected, including 485 avian infectious
bronchitis viruses, 72 duck coronaviruses and 36 pigeon coronaviruses.
The positive rates of avian infectious bronchitis virus, duck
coronavirus, and pigeon coronavirus were 15.35%, 2.28% and 1.14%,
respectively. Our surveillance demonstrated the diversities of avian
coronaviruses in China, and higher prevalence were also recognized in
some regions. The possibility of SARS-CoV-2 originating from the known
avian-origin coronaviruses can be preliminarily ruled out. More
surveillance and research on avian coronaviruses should be strengthened
for better understanding the diversity, distribution, cross-species
transmission and clinical significance of these viruses.