Version 1: Lack of detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Wildlife from Kerala, India in 2020-21

Spill over of SARs-CoV-2 into a variety of wild and domestic animals has been an ongoing feature of the human pandemic. The establishment of a new reservoir in white tailed deer in North America and increasing divergence of the viruses circulating in them from those circulating in the human population has highlighted the ongoing risk this poses for global health. Some parts of the world have seen more intensive monitoring of wildlife species for SARS-CoV-2 and related coronaviruses but there are still very large gaps in geographical and species-specific information. This paper reports negative results for SARS-CoV-2 PCR based testing using a pan coronavirus end point RDRP PCR and a Sarbecovirus specific E gene qPCR on lung and or gut tissue from wildlife from the Indian State of Kerala. These animals included: 121 Rhinolophus rouxii (Rufous Horsehoe Bat), 6 Rhinolophus bedommei (Lesser Woolly Horseshoe Bat), 15 Rossettus leschenaultii (Fulvous Fruit Bat), 47 Macaca radiata (Bonnet macaques), 35 Paradoxurus hermaphroditus (Common Palm Civet), 5 Viverricula indica (Small Indian Civet) , 4 Herpestes edwardsii (Common Mongoose), 10 Panthera tigris (Bengal Tiger), 8 Panthera pardus fusca ( Indian Leopard), 4 Prionailurus bengalensis (Leopard cats), 2  Felis chaus (Jungle cats), 2 Cuon alpinus (Wild dogs)  and 1 Melursus ursinus (sloth bear).