A Pre- and Within-Pandemic Survey of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Saliva Swabs from Stray Cats in Switzerland

Kuhlmeier, Evelyn; Chan, Tatjana; Klaus, Julia; Pineroli, Benita; Geisser, Esther; Hofmann‐Lehmann, Regina; Meli, Marina L.

doi:10.3390/v14040681

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Furthermore, the fact that cats in the foster network were all kittens and presented with ocular and respiratory diseases could also impact our results and the probability of being exposed to SARS-CoV-2 or other viral pathogens. However, a previous report of SARS-CoV-2 showed no difference in prevalence between cats with and without clinical evidence of respiratory disease, 7 suggesting that a difference would not have been expected between the groups assessed in the present study.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

“…The extent to which SARS‐CoV‐2 replicates in vulnerable cat populations, especially in those with high turnover rates and high rates of movement among households or institutions, has yet to be determined. Although cats seem to play a limited role in the spread of SARS‐CoV‐2 and the risk of cats spreading this virus to humans is considered to be low, 7 infection could potentially lead to low adoption rates and an increased reliance on euthanasia. This study was designed to survey the prevalence of FECV and SARS‐CoV‐2 within cats and kittens in shelters and foster homes in the Central Valley of California.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) in shelter‐housed cats in the Central Valley of California, USA

Chen,

López‐Pérez,

Vernau

et al. 2023

Veterinary Record Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundNon‐human animals are natural hosts for the virus causing COVID‐19 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 [SARS‐CoV‐2]) and a diversity of species appear susceptible to infection. Cats are of particular concern because of their close affiliation with humans and susceptibility to infection. Cats also harbour feline enteric coronavirus (FECV). Our objectives were to document the prevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2 and FECV in feline populations with high turnover and movement among households in the Central Valley of California, USA.MethodsA cross‐sectional study of 128 shelter and foster cats and kittens in the Central Valley of California was performed from July to December 2020. PCR was performed on rectal and oropharyngeal samples to detect SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA and on rectal samples to detect FECV RNA.ResultsAmong 163 rectal and oropharyngeal fluid samples gathered from sheltered and fostered cats and kittens in central California, SARS‐CoV‐2 nucleic acids were not detected from any cat or kitten. In contrast, FECV nucleic acids were detected in 18% of shelter‐housed cats; 83% of these positive samples were collected from cats housed in adjacent cages.ConclusionsThese data may be helpful when considering the allocation of resources to minimise the harm of FECV and SARS‐CoV‐2 in household pets and shelter environments.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 85%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) in shelter‐housed cats in the Central Valley of California, USA

Chen,

López‐Pérez,

Vernau

et al. 2023

Veterinary Record Open

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Indeed, epidemiological studies of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in stray animals reported a lower prevalence than the one observed in owned animals. Different studies analyzed the seroprevalence of stray cats ranging between 0% and 3.5% [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 60 ]; conversely, only a few studies have analyzed serological positivity for SARS-CoV-2 in free-roaming/shelter dogs [ 38 , 60 ]. Recently, Cardillo et al [ 60 ] described a higher seroprevalence in stray dogs (1.28%) rather than in cats (0.42%) in the Campania region (southern Italy), whereas this trend is reversed in owned animals of the same region.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Stray cats and dogs and colony cats have a great ecological impact due to their interaction with other urban and periurban animals [ 31 , 32 ]. Their epidemiological role in the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe and other countries has been analyzed in different studies and a broad range of prevalence was found [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ]. SARS-CoV-2 in domestic cats and dogs mostly showed the absence of prominent clinical signs [ 28 , 39 ] but stray animals do not receive the same veterinary and preventive care as domestic pets, possibly resulting in serious health issues if infected with concomitant diseases [ 36 , 40 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

One-Year Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Stray Cats and Kennel Dogs from Northeastern Italy

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dogs and cats are susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). During the pandemic, several studies have been performed on owned cats and dogs, whereas limited data are available on the exposure to stray animals. The objective of this study was to investigate the exposure to SARS-CoV-2 of feral cats and kennel dogs in northeastern Italy, through serological and molecular methods. From May 2021 to September 2022, public health veterinary services collected serum, oropharyngeal, and rectal swab samples from 257 free-roaming dogs newly introduced to shelters, and from 389 feral cats examined during the routinely trap–neutered–return programs. The swabs were analyzed for viral RNA through a real-time reverse transcriptase PCR (rRT-PCR), and sera were tested for the presence of the specific antibody against SARS-CoV-2 (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). Serology was positive in nine dogs (9/257) and three cats (3/389), while two asymptomatic cats tested positive to rRT-PCR. One cat turned out to be positive both for serology and molecular analysis. In addition, this study described the case of a possible human-to-animal SARS-CoV-2 transmission in a cat that travelled in close contact to a COVID-19-positive refugee from Ukraine. This study shows that SARS-CoV-2 can infect, in natural conditions, stray cats and kennel dogs in northeastern Italy, although with a low prevalence.

show abstract

“…The extraction of oropharyngeal, nasal and rectal swabs was performed as described previously [ 21 ]. All nucleic acid samples underwent RT-qPCR targeting the viral envelope (E) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) genes, as described previously [ 24 ]. Negative RT-qPCR controls (RNAse–DNase-free water, AppliChem, Darmstadt, Germany), a negative extraction control (PBS) and a positive RT-qPCR control (in vitro-transcribed RNA control containing three concatenated sequences of RdRp, E, and nucleocapsid (N) SARS-CoV-2 genes: RNA_Wuhan_RdRp-E-N) were assayed with every run.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Serological and Molecular Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in Horses and Cattle in Switzerland from 2020 to 2022

Hüttl,

Reitt,

Meli

et al. 2024

Viruses

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Horses and cattle have shown low susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, and there is no evidence of experimental intraspecies transmission. Nonetheless, seropositive horses in the US and seropositive cattle in Germany and Italy have been reported. The current study investigated the prevalence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in horses and cattle in Switzerland. In total, 1940 serum and plasma samples from 1110 horses and 830 cattle were screened with a species-specific ELISA based on the SARS-CoV-2 receptor-binding domain (RBD) and, in the case of suspect positive results, a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT) was used to demonstrate the neutralizing activity of the antibodies. Further confirmation of suspect positive samples was performed using either a pseudotype-based virus neutralization assay (PVNA; horses) or an indirect immunofluorescence test (IFA; cattle). The animals were sampled between February 2020 and December 2022. Additionally, in total, 486 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), oropharyngeal, nasal and rectal swab samples from horses and cattle were analyzed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA via reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Six horses (0.5%; 95% CI: 0.2–1.2%) were suspect positive via RBD-ELISA, and neutralizing antibodies were detected in two of them via confirmatory sVNT and PVNA tests. In the PVNA, the highest titers were measured against the Alpha and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants. Fifteen cattle (1.8%; 95% CI: 1.0–3.0%) were suspect positive in RBD-ELISA; 3 of them had SARS-CoV-2-specific neutralizing antibodies in sVNT and 4 of the 15 were confirmed to be positive via IFA. All tested samples were RT-qPCR-negative. The results support the hypotheses that the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in horses and cattle in Switzerland was low up to the end of 2022.

show abstract

A Pre- and Within-Pandemic Survey of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Saliva Swabs from Stray Cats in Switzerland

Cited by 8 publications

References 33 publications

Prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) in shelter‐housed cats in the Central Valley of California, USA

Prevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) and feline enteric coronavirus (FECV) in shelter‐housed cats in the Central Valley of California, USA

One-Year Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Exposure in Stray Cats and Kennel Dogs from Northeastern Italy

Serological and Molecular Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in Horses and Cattle in Switzerland from 2020 to 2022

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About