Table 1. Metadata for 776 animals from Ontario and Québec screened for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.
| Species | Sampling agency | Sample source | Sample location(s) | Dates of collection | Number of individuals sampled | Types of samples tested | Test performeda |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raccoon (Procyon lotor) | CWHC | Rabies surveillance (Québec samples), post-mortem exam | Southern Ontario, Southern Québec | Aug 2020–Feb 2021 | 11 | Respiratory tissue | PCR |
| Southern Québec | Nov–Dec 2020 | 68 | Respiratory tissue, rectal swab | ||||
| Southern Ontario, Southern Québec | Oct 2020–June 2021 | 15 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||||
| Southwestern Québec | Jan 2021 | 3 | Nasal swab | ||||
| Southern Québec | Jan–June 2021 | 54 | Nasal and rectal swabs | ||||
| NDMNRF and CWHC | Rabies surveillance, post-mortem exam | Hamilton, Ontario | Dec 2020 | 1 | Oral and rectal swabs, respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||
| NDMNRF | Rabies surveillance | Southwestern Ontario | June 2020–Jan 2021 | 100 | Oral and rectal swabs | ||
| Rabies seroprevalence study | Oakville, Ontario | Sept–Oct 2020 | 141 | Oral and rectal swabs | |||
| Sera | Antibody | ||||||
| Total raccoons sampled | 393 | - | |||||
| Striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis) | CWHC | Rabies surveillance (Québec samples), post-mortem exam | Southern Québec | Jan–June 2021 | 66 | Nasal swab | PCR |
| Southern Ontario, Southern Québec | July–Dec 2020 | 55 | Respiratory tissue | ||||
| Southern Ontario, Southwestern Québec, Saint-Félicien, Québec | Oct 2020–Apr 2021 | 9 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||||
| NDMNRF | Rabies surveillance, rabies seroprevalence study | Southwestern Ontario | Sept 2020–May 2021 | 104 | Oral and rectal swabs | ||
| Rabies seroprevalence study | Oakville, Ontario | Sept–Oct 2020 | 36 | Oral and rectal swabs | |||
| Sera | Antibody | ||||||
| Total skunks sampled | 270 | - | |||||
| American mink (Neovision vison) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Thornhill, Ontario | July 2020 | 1 | Respiratory tissue | PCR |
| NDMNRF | Registered fur harvesters, roadkill, rabies surveillance | Southern Ontario | Fall 2020–Spring 2021 | 42b | Oral and rectal swabs, lung and intestinal tissue | ||
| Cardiac blood or Nobuto strips | Antibody | ||||||
| Total mink sampled | 43 | - | |||||
| Big brown bat (Eptesicus fuscus) | Granby Zoo | Rehabilitation program | Southwestern Québec | Nov 2020–Mar 2021 | 15 | Oral swabs | PCR |
| 2 | Guano | ||||||
| 15 | Oral swabs and guano | ||||||
| Total big brown bats sampled | 32 | - | |||||
| Hoary bat (Lasiurus cinerus) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Etobicoke, Ontario | Dec 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| American marten (Martes americana) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec | Nov 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| Fisher (Pekania pennanti) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Western Québec | May 2021 | 2 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| American black bear (Ursus americanus) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Northern Ontario | Sept 2020 | 2 | Respiratory tissue | PCR |
| Killaloe, Ontario | Oct 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||||
| Total black bears sampled | 3 | - | |||||
| Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus actus) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Carleton-sur-Mer, Québec | June 2021 | 1 | Intestinal tissue | PCR |
| Sept-Îles, Québec | March 2021 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||||
| Total Atlantic white-sided dolphins sampled | 2 | - | |||||
| Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | La Montée, Québec | Dec 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Matane, Québec | Dec 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| Coyote (Canis latrans) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Saint-Alexandre-d'Iberville, Québec | April 2021 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| Eastern wolf (Canus lupus lycaon) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario | Oct 2020 | 1 | Respiratory tissue | PCR |
| Southern and central Ontario | 4 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | |||||
| Total eastern wolves sampled | 5 | - | |||||
| Grey fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Châteauguay, Québec | Dec 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
| Red fox (Vulpes vulpes) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Mercier, Québec | Jan 2021 | 1 | Nasal and rectal swabs | PCR |
| Southwestern Québec | Nov–Dec 2020 | 4 | Respiratory tissue, rectal swabs | ||||
| Southern, Ontario | July–Oct 2020 | 5 | Respiratory tissue | ||||
| Dunham, Québec | Dec 2020 | 1 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||||
| Total red foxes sampled | 11 | - | |||||
| Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | Bolton-Est, Québec | June 2021 | 1 | Nasal and rectal swabs | PCR |
| Southern Ontario | July–Oct 2020 | 2 | Respiratory tissue | ||||
| Southwestern Ontario, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec | Oct 2020, March 2021 | 3 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | ||||
| Total Virginia opossums sampled | 6 | - | |||||
| White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) | CWHC | Post-mortem exam | London, Ontario, Southwestern Québec | Oct–Dec 2020 | 3 | Respiratory and intestinal tissue | PCR |
Abbreviations: CWHC, Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative; NDMNRF, Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry; PCR, polymerase chain reaction; -, not applicable
a All PCR testing was performed at Sunnybrook Research Institute and all antibody testing was performed at the Public Health Agency of Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory
b Due to the condition of the carcasses, we were unable to collect lung tissue or cardiac blood from one individual, cardiac blood from a further two individuals and rectal swabs from two individuals. In cases where we could not collect cardiac blood, we instead submitted a Nobuto strip soaked in fluid from the chest cavity for antibody testing