The Omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern also affects companion animals

Abstract

The recent emergence of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has brought with it a large increase in the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 disease worldwide. However, there is hardly any data on the incidence of this new variant in companion animals. In this study, we have detected the presence of this new variant in domestic animals such as dogs and cats living with owners with COVID19 in Spain that have been sampled at the most optimal time for the detection of the disease. None of the RT-qPCR positive animals (10.13%) presented any clinical signs and the viral loads detected were very low. In addition, the shedding of viral RNA lasted a short period of time in the positive animals. Infection with the Omicron variant of concern (VOC) was confirmed by a specific RT-qPCR for the detection of this variant and by sequencing. These outcomes suggest a lower virulence of this variant in infected cats and dogs. This study demonstrates the transmission of this new variant from infected humans to domestic animals and highlights the importance of doing active surveillance as well as genomic research to detect the presence of VOCs or mutations associated with animal hosts.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) infection and humoral responses against different variants of concern in domestic pet animals and stray cats from North‐Eastern Spain

“…2021; Kim et al., 2020; Shi et al., 2020). Also, considering that both natural and experimental SARS‐CoV‐2 infections in pet animals have mostly caused subclinical infections so far (Hamer, Pauvolid‐Corrêa, et al., 2021; Kim et al., 2020; Ruiz‐Arrondo et al., 2021; Sánchez‐Morales et al., 2022), it is rather difficult to suspect the right timing of active SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. In some cases, SARS‐CoV‐2 infections in pets caused mild clinical signs, mainly respiratory (coughing, sneezing) and digestive (diarrhoea, vomiting) (Fritz et al., 2021; Hamer, Ghai, et al., 2021; Kim et al., 2020), as we observed in the case of D2 (Fernández‐Bastit et al., 2021).…”

High Seroprevalence against SARS-CoV-2 among Dogs and Cats, Poland, 2021/2022

“…Increasingly, these pets are friends/family members, meaning that owners are in close contact with them daily, which is important when considering virus transmissions between owners and animals. Indeed, anthropozoonotic SARS-CoV-2 transmissions from infected owners to their cats or dogs were reported with increasing frequency and included multiple variants of concern (VOCs) from alpha to omicron [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Alarmingly, the suspicion of a first cat-to-human back-transmission of SARS-CoV-2 was reported recently [ 10 ].…”

A Structural Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease and Animal Coronaviral Main Protease Reveals Species-Specific Ligand Binding and Dimerization Mechanism

“…It has been reported that SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in dogs from households of COVID-19 patients in Hong Kong and Italy [ 21 ]. Moreover, the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has recently been detected in cats and dogs living with COVID-19 patients in Spain [ 22 ]. Another concern is the potential threats of animal CoV variations which may cause the next global pandemic.…”