Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
First confirmed case of COVID-19 in a cat in France
By Sailleau, Corinne et al.·Published in Transboundary and emerging diseases·2020·UMR VIROLOGIE, France·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: First detection and genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in an infected cat in France.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A cat in France showed mild respiratory and digestive signs and was found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This cat was tested after its owner was suspected of having the virus. While the cat tested positive for the virus in a rectal swab, it had negative results from a nasopharyngeal swab, and further tests confirmed the presence of antibodies against the virus. Fortunately, there is currently no evidence that cats can spread COVID-19 to humans, so pet owners should not worry about abandoning their pets.
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Abstract
After its first description in Wuhan (China), SARS-CoV-2 the agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) rapidly spread worldwide. Previous studies suggested that pets could be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2. Here, we investigated the putative infection by SARS-CoV-2 in 22 cats and 11 dogs from owners previously infected or suspected of being infected by SARS-CoV-2. For each animal, rectal, nasopharyngeal swabs and serum were taken. Swabs were submitted to RT-qPCR assays targeting 2 genes of SARS-CoV-2. All dogs were tested SARS-CoV-2 negative. One cat was tested positive by RT-qPCR on rectal swab. Nasopharyngeal swabs from this animal were tested negative. This cat showed mild respiratory and digestive signs. Serological analysis confirms the presence of antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 in both serum samples taken 10 days apart. Genome sequence analysis revealed that the cat SARS-CoV-2 belongs to the phylogenetic clade A2a like most of the French human SARS-CoV-2. This study reports for the first time the natural infection of a cat in France (near Paris) probably through their owners. There is currently no evidence that cats can spread COVID-19 and owners should not abandon their pets or compromise their welfare.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32500944/