Materials and Methods
This literature review was conducted using an exploratory scoping study
approach, as its purpose was to rapidly map the broad state of knowledge
regarding SARS-CoV-2 and animals from the heterogenous types of
available evidence, rather than to answer a clearly defined question
(Arksey & O’Malley, 2005). We conducted successive daily scans of
multiple electronic databases, preprint repositories, internet search
engines, government and organisational websites, and media sources, and
used different combinations of the following words and phrases to
actively identify additional relevant publications: SARS-CoV-2,
coronavirus, COVID-19, nCoV-19, animal, pet, cat, dog, ferret, hamster,
tiger, lion, monkey, primate, bat, pangolin, snake, mink, ‘reservoir
host’, ‘intermediate host’, transmission, susceptibility, infection. The
searches covered all years and any publications in English and Dutch. We
also searched reference lists from key reviews and articles to identify
additional publications or sources of interest. Study titles and
abstracts were screened, with full articles obtained and re-evaluated
for inclusion/exclusion under the following criteria:
- Inclusion criteria: Epidemiological studies, case reports,
commentaries, reviews, letters, editorials, preprints, government
documents, media reports and blogs, published in English or Dutch
between 31st December 2019 and
23rd June 2020, that were relevant under the
following categories: 1) reports of natural SARS-CoV-2 infections in
domestic or wild animal species; 2) experimental SARS-CoV-2
susceptibility, pathogenesis and/or transmission studies in animals;
3) discussions, predictions and/or modelling of animal reservoir
and/or intermediate host species for SARS-CoV-2, and 4) general
reviews or commentary about SARS-CoV-2 and animals.
- Exclusion criteria: Any documents relating to SARS-CoV-2
vaccines or therapeutics, including nanobody and antibody therapy, and
articles published in a language other than English or Dutch.
Based on the above criteria, a total of 351 documents were collated and
evaluated for inclusion in this review: 78 journal articles; 79
preprints; 75 media articles (including newspaper and magazine
articles); 113 official reports, documents and press releases; and 6
websites. Included references were sorted into the categories listed
above. Data from experimental studies were entered into a Microsoft Word
template by animal species. Case data on natural infections in animals
were entered into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, from which summary
tables were created.