Our results showed that sheep-derived kidney cells support SARS-CoV-2 replication. Furthermore, experimental challenge of sheep demonstrated limited infection with viral RNA shed in nasal and oral swabs at 1-day post challenge (DPC); viral RNA was also detected in the respiratory tract and lymphoid tissues at 4 and 8 DPC.
Sero-reactivity was observed in some of the principal infected sheep but not the contact sentinels, indicating that transmission to co-mingled naïve sheep was not highly efficient; however, viral RNA was detected in some of the respiratory tract tissues of sentinel animals at 21 DPC. Furthermore, we used challenge inoculum consisting of a mixture of two SARS-CoV-2 isolates, representatives of the ancestral lineage A and the B.1.1.7-like alpha variant of concern, to study competition of the two virus strains. Our results indicate that sheep show low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that the alpha variant outcompeted the lineage A strain.
