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COVID-19 is a zoonotic disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Infections of animals with SARS-CoV-2 have recently been reported, and an increase of severe lung pathologies in domestic dogs has also been detected by veterinarians in Spain. Therefore, further descriptions of the pathological processes in those animals that show symptoms similar to those described in humans affected by COVID-19 would be highly valuable. The potential for companion animals to contribute to the continued transmission and community spread of this known human-to-human disease is an urgent issue to be considered. Forty animals with pulmonary pathologies were studied by chest X-ray, ultrasound analysis, and computed tomography. Nasopharyngeal and rectal swabs were analyzed to detect canine pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. An additional twenty healthy dogs living in SARS-CoV-2-positive households were included. Immunoglobulin detection by several immunoassays was performed. Our findings show that sick dogs presented severe alveolar or interstitial patterns with pulmonary opacity, parenchymal abnormalities, and bilateral lesions. The forty sick dogs were negative for SARS-CoV-2 but Mycoplasma spp. was detected in 26 of 33 dogs. Five healthy and one pathological dog presented IgG against SARS-CoV-2. Here we report that despite detecting dogs with α-SARS-CoV-2 IgG, we never obtained a positive RT-qPCR for SARS-SoV-2, not even in dogs with severe pulmonary disease; suggesting that even in the case of canine infection, transmission would be unlikely. Moreover, dogs living in COVID-19-positive households could have been more highly exposed to infection with SARS-CoV-2.

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An 18-month-old neutered male Persian cat was referred to the Hospital Clinic Veterinari of the Universitat Aut onoma de Barcelona (HCV-UAB) for an investigation of a 4-week history of progressive paraparesis. Physical examination was considered normal. Neurologic examination was consistent with a T3-L3 myelopathy. Marked thoracolumbar pain was present. Main differential diagnoses included inflammatory/ infectious disease and neoplasia. Hematology and complete serum biochemistry profiles and an abdominal ultrasonographic examination were unremarkable; feline immunodeficiency virus/feline leukemia virus (FeLV) serologic tests were negative. Thoracic radiographs revealed a radiolucent lesion affecting T11-T13 vertebral bodies. Postmyelographic computed tomography revealed a marked thickening of the pedicle, lamina, and vertebral body of T13 and L1 vertebrae causing spinal cord compression on the left side (Figure 1). A T13-L1 left-side hemilaminectomy was performed in order to decompress the spinal cord and obtain a sample for analysis. Excisional biopsy of the proliferative lesion and intraoperative cytologic imprints were submitted for evaluation ( Figure 2). Figure 1. Transverse computed tomographic image at the level of T13 vertebra in a young cat with progressive paraparesis. Note the marked thickening of the pedicle, lamina, and vertebral body on the left side causing spinal cord compression (arrow).Figure 2. Imprint of an extradural vertebral mass from a young cat with progressive paraparesis. Modified Wright stain.

Patient-based procedures are suitable for veterinary laboratories. The RPT approach may benefit laboratories with limited budgets and low hematology caseloads. The AoN procedure may benefit laboratories with higher hematology caseloads.