A standardized instrument quantifying risk factors associated with bi-directional transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other zoonotic pathogens: The COVID-19 Human-Animal Interactions Survey (CHAIS)
Authors: Gass Jonathon D. , Waite Kaitlin B. , Hill Nichola , Dalton Kathryn , Sawatzki Kaitlin , Runstadler Jonathan , Davis Meghan F ,   for the CHAIS Expert Review Group
Published: September 2021

SARS-CoV-2 (CoV-2), which surfaced in late 2019 in Wuhan City, China, most likely originated in bats and rapidly spread among humans globally, harming and disrupting livelihoods worldwide. Early into the pandemic, reports of CoV-2 diagnoses in pets and other animals emerged, including dogs, cats, farmed mink and some large felids (tigers and lions) from various countries. While most CoV-2 positive animals were confirmed to have been in close contact with CoV-2 positive humans, there has been a paucity of published evidence to-date describing risk factors associated with CoV-2 transmission among humans and domestic and wild animals. The COVID-19 Human-Animal Interactions Survey (CHAIS) was developed through a cross-CEIRS Center collaboration to provide a standardized survey describing human-animal interaction during the pandemic and to evaluate behavioral, spatiotemporal, and biological risk factors associated with bi-directional zoonotic transmission of CoV-2 within households and other shared environments. CHAIS measures four broad domains of transmission risk; 1) intensity and risk of infection among human hosts, 2) spatial characteristics of shared environments, 3) behaviors and human-animal interactions, and 4) animal susceptibility to infection and propensity for onward spread. Following the development of CHAIS, with a One Health approach, a multidisciplinary group of experts (n=20) was invited to review and provide feedback on the survey for content validity. Expert feedback was incorporated into two final survey formats-a long-form and an abridged version for which specific core questions addressing zoonotic and reverse zoonotic transmission were identified. Both forms are modularized, with each section having the capacity to serve as independent instruments, allowing researchers to customize the survey based on context and research-specific needs. Further adaptations for studies seeking to investigate other zoonotic pathogens with similar routes of transmission (i.e. respiratory, direct contact) are also possible. The CHAIS instrument is a standardized human-animal interaction survey developed to provide important data on risk factors that guide transmission of CoV-2 from humans to animals, with great utility in capturing information of zoonotic transmission risk factors for CoV-2 and other similar pathogens.

Impacts

We present a standardized survey instrument for evaluating risk factors associated with bi-directional zoonotic transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other similarly transmitted pathogens in household and other settings where humans and animals share close contact.

The CHAIS instrument evaluates behavioral, spatiotemporal, and host determinants of transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 and is highly adaptable for use in studies seeking to investigate other zoonotic pathogens such as influenza viruses.

This standardized instrument will enable pooling of data across studies for meta-analyses to improve predictive models of bi-directional transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among humans and animals and will inform public health prevention and mitigation measures.