Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an enveloped non-segmented, single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus. SARS-CoV-2 was originally identified in human patients with coronavirus disease in 2019. Since early 2020, SARS-CoV-2 has caused a global pandemic and resulted in millions of human infections and deaths. Other than humans, SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in at least ten different animal species. These animals are presumed to have been infected with SARS-CoV-2 from infected humans (anthroponosis/reverse zoonosis). Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in animals will improve the understanding of viral evolution, transmission, and natural reservoirs. In this chapter, real-time RT-PCR assays to detect SARS-CoV-2 using primers and probes targeting N and E genes are described.
SARS-CoV-2 Real-Time RT-PCR Assay in Animals