SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in dogs and cats is associated with contact to COVID‐19‐positive household members

Abstract

Several domestic and wild animal species are susceptible to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection. Reported (sero)prevalence in dogs and cats vary largely depending on the target population, test characteristics, geographical location and time period. This research assessed the prevalence of SARS‐CoV‐2‐positive cats and dogs (PCR‐ and/or antibody positive) in two different populations. Dogs and cats living in a household with at least one confirmed COVID‐19‐positive person (household (HH) study; 156 dogs and 152 cats) and dogs and cats visiting a veterinary clinic (VC) (VC study; 183 dogs and 140 cats) were sampled and tested for presence of virus (PCR) and antibodies. Potential risk factors were evaluated and follow‐up of PCR‐positive animals was performed to determine the duration of virus shedding and to detect potential transmission between pets in the same HH. In the HH study, 18.8% (27 dogs, 31 cats) tested SARS‐CoV‐2 positive (PCR‐ and/or antibody positive), whereas in the VC study, SARS‐CoV‐2 prevalence was much lower (4.6%; six dogs, nine cats). SARS‐CoV‐2 prevalence amongst dogs and cats was significantly higher in the multi‐person HHs with two or more COVID‐19‐positive persons compared with multi‐person HHs with only one COVID‐19‐positive person. In both study populations, no associations could be identified between SARS‐CoV‐2 status of the animal and health status, age or sex. During follow‐up of PCR‐positive animals, no transmission to other pets in the HH was observed despite long‐lasting virus shedding in cats (up to 35 days). SARS‐CoV‐2 infection in dogs and cats appeared to be clearly associated with reported COVID‐19‐positive status of the HH. Our study supports previous findings and suggests a very low risk of pet‐to‐human transmission within HHs, no severe clinical signs in pets and a negligible pet‐to‐pet transmission between HHs.

Rising SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and Patterns of Cross-Variant Antibody Neutralization in UK Domestic Cats

“…A relationship is evident between the proportion of seropositives, with respect to dominant variant, detected at different timepoints and the waves of infection in the UK’s human population. The dominant strain detected in cats appears to trail the emergence of each VOC into the human population, indicating repeated cross-species jumps between humans and cats and implicating owner-to-pet transmission as the primary route of infection, consistent with other serosurveys ( 11, 54, 55, 56 ).…”

“…Despite current evidence showing most cases of SARS-CoV-2 in felids are spillover infections resulting from close contact with infected humans ( 11 ), SARS-CoV-2-specific antibodies have been found in stray cats in Rio De Janeiro ( 12 ), and in abandoned cats in Wuhan, indicating cats might be infected from other sources ( 13 ). Similarly, cat-to-cat transmission has been demonstrated experimentally ( 14, 15, 16 ).…”

Evidence of Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in Dogs and Cats from Households and Animal Shelters in Korea

“…However, the VN to the virus was detected in 0.8% of dogs and 1.7% of cats tested [ 25 ]. Another study in the Netherlands detected 18.8% (17.3% of dogs and 20.4% of cats) cases of SARS-CoV-2 positivity (PCR- and/or antibody positive) out of 156 dogs and 152 cats living in households with at least one confirmed COVID-19-positive person, whereas the SARS-CoV-2 prevalence was much lower in 183 dogs and 140 cats that had simply visited a clinic (3.3% of dogs and 6.4% of cats) [ 26 ]. Meanwhile, in Poland, when the country was in the midst of the fourth wave of viral spread, companion animals showed relatively high seroprevalence (18.9% of the feline sera and 16.0% of the canine sera tested positive) [ 27 ].…”

“…Further investigation is needed regarding dog susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2. Additionally, many serological surveys in pets remain to be explored to reveal the extent of the transmission routes between COVID-19-infected humans and community pets [ 20 , 26 , 35 ].…”

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

“…The eluted RNAs were subjected to the specific SARS-CoV-2 rRT-PCR method described by Corman et al [ 45 ]. In previous studies, cross-reactivity of the test utilized was assessed for common human coronaviruses (HCoV-229E, HCoV-NL63, and HCoV-OC43), MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, feline coronavirus (FCoV TN406HP), feline infectious peritonitis virus (FIPV), canine coronavirus (CCV-378), and bovine coronavirus (BCV), reporting good performance and no cross-reactivity [ 45 , 46 ]. In addition, R swabs from SARS-CoV-2-positive cats were further tested for FCoV and all resulted negative.…”