COVID-19 Animal Testing Capacity

PROJECT SUMMARY /ABSTRACT COVID-19 animal testing capacity Severeacute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the causative agent of Coronavirusdisease 19 (COVID-19), which is an ongoing global health concern. The widespreadnature of this zoonotic disease and the susceptibilityof some animal species includingcompanion animals (cats and dogs), zoo animals, farmed mink, and wildlifeto infection emphasizes the need of expanding SARS-CoV-2 testing in animals. Understanding the extent of SARS-CoV-2 infections of domestic and wild animals would provide the necessary evidence to better assess the implications of widespread human SARS-CoV-2 infections for animal health and welfare. Our lab already has an established protocol for testing animal samples for SARS-CoV-2 using a real-time PCR panel, however, the presence of a single PCR workstation to set up the PCR reagents for all the PCR diagnostic assays performed in our laboratory limits our ability to expand our animal SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic and surveillance testing capacity. We propose to purchase a PCR workstation and laboratory refrigerator. This additional equipment will allow us to conduct large scale surveillance for detecting SARS-CoV- 2 infections among wild and domestic animals.