Abstract:
The ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had devastating health
and socio-economic impacts. Human activities, especially at the wildlife interphase, are at the core
of forces driving the emergence of new viral agents. Global surveillance activities have identified
bats as the natural hosts of diverse coronaviruses, with other domestic and wildlife animal species
possibly acting as intermediate or spillover hosts. The African continent is confronted by several
factors that challenge prevention and response to novel disease emergences, such as high species
diversity, inadequate health systems, and drastic social and ecosystem changes. We reviewed
published animal coronavirus surveillance studies conducted in Africa, specifically summarizing
surveillance approaches, species numbers tested, and findings. Far more surveillance has been
initiated among bat populations than other wildlife and domestic animals, with nearly 26,000 bat
individuals tested. Though coronaviruses have been identified from approximately 7% of the total
bats tested, surveillance among other animals identified coronaviruses in less than 1%. In addition to
a large undescribed diversity, sequences related to four of the seven human coronaviruses have been
reported from African bats. The review highlights research gaps and the disparity in surveillance
efforts between different animal groups (particularly potential spillover hosts) and concludes with
proposed strategies for improved future biosurveillance.