We report cross-reactive antibodies from prepandemic cats and postpandemic South Carolina white-tailed deer that are specific for that SARS-CoV RBD. There are several potential explanations for this cross-reactivity, each with important implications to coronavirus disease surveillance.

In late 2019, a novel coronavirus began circulating within humans in central China. It was designated SARS-CoV-2 because of its genetic similarities to the 2003 SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Now that SARS-CoV-2 has spread worldwide, there is a risk of it establishing new animal reservoirs and recombination with native circulating coronaviruses. To screen local animal populations in the United States for exposure to SARS-like coronaviruses, we developed a serological assay using the receptor binding domain (RBD) from SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2's RBD differs from common human and animal coronaviruses allowing us to identify animals previously infected with SARS-CoV or SARS-CoV-2. Using an indirect ELISA for SARS-CoV-2's RBD, we screened serum from wild and domestic animals for the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2's RBD. Surprisingly pre-pandemic feline serum samples submitted to the University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital were ~70% positive for anti-SARS RBD antibodies. This was independent of prior infection with a feline coronavirus (FCoV), eliminating the possibility of FCoV cross-reactivity. We also identified several white-tailed deer from South Carolina that were also positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. These results bring up an intriguing possibility of a circulating agent (likely a coronavirus) with enough similarity to the SARS RBD to generate cross-reactive antibodies. Finding seropositive cats and white-tailed deer prior to the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, further highlights our lack of information about circulating coronaviruses in other species.

A one-month-old male goat kid presented with a three weeks’ history of progressive neurological deficits and progressive tetraparesis. Initial therapeutic strategy with antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and selenium supplementation only partly relieved clinical signs. Digital radiographs were performed antemortem and revealed a pathological fracture of the vertebral column. A CT scan was performed immediately postmortem. The imaging revealed lysis of the vertebral bodies of T8, T9, T12 and T13 and focal narrowing of the vertebral canal consistent with infectious osteomyelitis of the thoracic vertebral column. Histopathological examination and microbiological testing confirmed a multifocal discospondylitis and vertebral osteomyelitis of mixed bacterial origin.