An Outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in Captive Armadillos Associated with Gamma Variant in Argentina

Abstract

The current pandemic produced by SARS-CoV-2 and its variants represent an example of the onehealth concept in which humans and animals are components of the same epidemiologic chain. Animalreservoirs of these viruses are thus the focus of surveillance programs, to monitor their circulation andevolution in potentially new hosts and reservoirs. In this work, we report the detection of the SARS-CoV-2Gamma variant infection in four specimens of Chaetophractus villosus (big hairy armadillo/armadillo peludo)in Argentina. In addition to the finding of a new wildlife species susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, theidentification of the Gamma variant three months after its last detection in humans in Argentina is a noteworthy result, which can be due to alternative non-exclusive scenarios, such as unidentified viral reservoirs,unrecognized circulation in humans or species-specific variation in incubation periods.