COVID-19 and Novel Coronaviruses: From Old Problems in Veterinary Medicine To New Challenges For Human Beings

The emergence of the novel human coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has been one of the most overwhelming human challenges of recent decades. Despite global efforts to stop or slow down the spread of the disease, it has infected millions of people across the world within a short period of time. Research on human coronaviruses has not been received adequate attention and there is currently no specific treatment or vaccine available for coronaviruses in humans. Interestingly, evolution, pathogenesis, and immunogenicity of coronaviruses in livestock and poultry have been described for many years and they are controlled by mass vaccination programs. Moreover, elevating immune responses to coronaviruses, a major hurdle in virulent human-coronaviruses, has been studied by several investigators in cat populations. Indeed, cross-species transmission and tropism of animal coronaviruses have been investigated by several research groups. It is estimated that three out of every four new emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic. Preliminary reports indicate that like other human coronaviruses, SARS-CoV-2 has been transmitted from bats to humans by an intermediate animal host. Hence, interdisciplinary collaborations among veterinary and medical researchers and clinicians, biologists, and environmental scientists are essential for identifying the possible animal reservoir of the viruses in general and discovering the evolutionary pathway of SARS-CoV-2 in particular. This can also result in the designing of effective prevention and control measures against SARS-CoV-2. In this review, advances in the understanding of different features of animal coronaviruses that can facilitate effective measures in dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have been discussed.