Respiratory disease in cats associated with human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK

Hosie, Margaret J.; Epifano, Ilaria; Herder, Vanessa; Orton, Richard; Stevenson, Andrew; Johnson, Natasha; MacDonald, Emma; Dunbar, Dawn; McDonald, Michael; Howie, Fiona; Tennant, Bryn; Herrity, Darcy; Filipe, Ana C; Streicker, Daniel G.; Willett, Brian J.; Jarrett, Ruth F.; Robertson, David L.; Weir, William

doi:10.1101/2020.09.23.309948

Cited by 29 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…At the time of writing (30 December 2020), there have been numerous sporadic reports of domestic animals from COVID-19 households that tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and were presumed to be infected from their owners. Cats infected with SARS-CoV-2 have been identified in Belgium [43], Hong Kong [44], US [45], France [46], Spain [47,48], Germany [49], UK [50], Italy [51], and Switzerland [52], and these cases, as well as cases from Russia, Denmark, Sweden, Chile, Japan, Brazil, and Argentina have been reported to OIE and appear on a list that is regularly updated by OIE [53].…”

Section: Evidence Of Human-to-cat Transmission Of Sars-cov-2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Infection of Cats during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Hosie

Hofmann‐Lehmann

Hartmann³

et al. 2021

Viruses

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COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a new coronavirus (CoV), SARS-CoV-2, which is closely related to SARS-CoV that jumped the animal–human species barrier and caused a disease outbreak in 2003. SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus that was first described in 2019, unrelated to the commonly occurring feline coronavirus (FCoV) that is an alphacoronavirus associated with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and has spread globally within a few months, resulting in the current pandemic. Felids have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Particularly in the Western world, many people live in very close contact with their pet cats, and natural infections of cats in COVID-19-positive households have been described in several countries. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), a scientifically independent board of experts in feline medicine from 11 European Countries, discusses the current status of SARS-CoV infections in cats. The review examines the host range of SARS-CoV-2 and human-to-animal transmissions, including infections in domestic and non-domestic felids, as well as mink-to-human/-cat transmission. It summarises current data on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in domestic cats and the results of experimental infections of cats and provides expert opinions on the clinical relevance and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cats.

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Section: Evidence Of Human-to-cat Transmission Of Sars-cov-2mentioning

confidence: 99%

Anthropogenic Infection of Cats during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Hosie

Hofmann‐Lehmann

Hartmann³

et al. 2021

Viruses

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“…It can be assumed that transmission from humans to cats can occur, supported by sequence analysis of viral genomes from domestic cats and humans, which has revealed a high degree of sequence conservation. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in the viral whole genome sequence of cats in comparison to the original Wuhan_Hu-1 reference sequence are also frequently found in genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 that originated from humans [ 17 ]. Overall, the transmission from humans to cats seems to be an occasional event that does not always take place, as nine domestic cats that were monitored during their owner’s infection with SARS-CoV-2 did not acquire an infection themselves [ 18 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Occurrence of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the Domestic Cat Population of Germany

et al. 2020

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Domestic cats (Felis catus) are popular companion animals that live in close contact with their human owners. Therefore, the risk of a trans-species spreading event between domestic cats and humans is ever-present. Shortly after the emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and its rapid spread around the world, the role of domestic cats in the transmission cycle was questioned. In the present study, the first large-scale survey of antibody occurrence in the domestic cat population in Germany was conducted, in order to assess the incidence of naturally occurring human to cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2. A total of 920 serum samples, which were collected from April to September of 2020, were screened by an indirect multispecies ELISA. Positive samples were verified using an indirect immunofluorescence test (iIFT) and additionally tested for neutralizing antibodies. Furthermore, serum samples were screened for antibodies against feline coronavirus (FCoV), in order to rule out cross-reactivity in the described test systems. Overall, 0.69% (6/920) of serum samples were found to be positive for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 by ELISA and iIFT. Two of these reactive sera also displayed neutralizing antibodies. No cross-reactivity with FCoV-specific antibodies was observed. The finding of SARS-CoV-2 antibody-positive serum samples in the domestic cat population of Germany, during a period when the incidence of human infection in the country was still rather low, indicates that human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 happens, but there is no indication of SARS-CoV-2 circulation in cats.

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“…Naturally acquired infections of SARS-CoV-2 have only been demonstrated in pet dogs and cats in domestic settings, in tigers (Panthera tigris), lions (Panthera leo) and a puma (Puma concolor) in zoological collections, and in farmed American mink (Neovison vison) [38,39,40,41]. All such cases of natural infection have been linked to initial transmission from humans to the animals in their care.…”

Section: Host Susceptibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Observations from experimental and natural SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals clearly suggest relatively high susceptibility amongst felids (Felidae family). Both wild and domestic felids are amongst the most epidemiologically relevant animal hosts of SARS-CoV-2 because human-to-feline transmission has been sporadically recorded both in pet cats [40,42,65] and captive wild animals such as tigers and lions [41,66]. Moreover, there is experimental evidence for transmission amongst cats both via direct contact [67] and from airborne virus [32].…”

Section: Felidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, rare and endangered species could be at risk of exposure to infected people involved in research and conservation programmes. Domestic cats naturally infected with SARS-CoV-2 have often been reported as asymptomatic or showing only mild clinical signs, although some instances of more serious disease have also been reported [40,65,67], whereas only mild respiratory signs accompanied infection in captive tigers and lions [41,66]. It is therefore unclear whether infection could have notable impacts on wild felid populations.…”

Section: Felidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Risks of SARS-CoV-2 in Wildlife

Delahay¹,

Fuente²,

Smith³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 likely emerged from a wildlife source with transmission to humans followed by rapid geographic spread throughout the globe and dramatic impacts on both human health and global economies. Since the onset of the pandemic, there have been several instances of human-to-animal transmission involving companion, farmed and zoo animals, with the clear potential for spread into free-living wildlife. The establishment of reservoirs of infection in wild animals would create significant challenges to infection control in humans and could pose a threat to the welfare and conservation status of wildlife. Herein, we discuss the potential for exposure, maintenance and onward transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in an initial selection of wild and feral species (bats, canids, felids, mustelids, great apes). Targeted surveillance and dynamic risk assessment are important tools for the early detection of infection in wildlife and a means of collating and synthesising emerging information in a rapidly changing situation. Such efforts should be integrated with public health information to provide insights into the potential role of wild mammals in the continuing epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. This approach should also be adopted to address the wider need to proactively assess threats to human and animal health from other diseases that may emerge from wildlife.

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Respiratory disease in cats associated with human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK

Cited by 29 publications

References 18 publications

Anthropogenic Infection of Cats during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Anthropogenic Infection of Cats during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Occurrence of Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the Domestic Cat Population of Germany

Assessing the Risks of SARS-CoV-2 in Wildlife

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