SARS-CoV2 – Swine in Minnesota

Summary of: Susceptibility of domestic swine to SARS-CoV2

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

This week, we are sharing the summary of a publication by Pickering et al. regarding the susceptibility of pigs to SARS-CoV2, the agent responsible for COVID-19 in humans.

A review of SARS-CoV2 and other coronaviruses survival in the environment

A review paper was recently published in the Transboundary and Emerging Diseases journal, result of a collaboration between the University of Minnesota and Alexandria University. In this publication, available in open access, researchers describe the survival rates of the virus on various surfaces and the impact of temperature and humidity.

Susceptibility of swine cells and domestic pigs to SARS-CoV-2

This is our Friday rubric: every week a new Science Page from the Bob Morrison’s Swine Health Monitoring Project. The previous editions of the science page are available on our website.

Dr. Meekins and his team shared their latest results regarding how susceptible domestic pigs and cultured swine cells are to SARS-CoV2.

Key points

Cultured swine cells are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, but domestic pigs are resistant to infection.
Pigs are unlikely to be carriers of SARS-CoV-2 or relevant pre-clinical animal models for the development of COVID-19 vaccines or therapeutics.