title: Coronavirus genotype diversity and prevalence of infection in wild carnivores in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania.
abstract: Knowledge of coronaviruses in wild carnivores is limited. This report describes coronavirus genetic diversity, species specificity and infection prevalence in three wild African carnivores. Coronavirus RNA was recovered from fresh feces from spotted hyena and silver-backed jackal, but not bat-eared fox. Analysis of sequences of membrane (M) and spike (S) gene fragments revealed strains in the genus Alphacoronavirus, including three distinct strains in hyenas and one distinct strain in a jackal. Coronavirus RNA prevalence was higher in feces from younger (17 %) than older (3 %) hyenas, highlighting the importance of young animals for coronavirus transmission in wild carnivores.
authors.affiliation: Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Katja V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Goller
authors.forename: Jörns
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fickel
authors.forename: Heribert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hofer
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beier
authors.forename: Marion L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: East
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000835:Animals, Wild; D002335:Carnivora; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary* / Q000821:virology; D005243:Feces / Q000821:virology; D005589:Foxes; D014644:Genetic Variation; D005838:Genotype; D045968:Hyaenidae; D046030:Jackals; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D015995:Prevalence; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D013045:Species Specificity; D013636:Tanzania / Q000453:epidemiology