Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
SARS-CoV-2 infection in dogs and cats in Germany and Italy
By Klaus, Julia et al.·Published in Viruses·2021·Department of Clinical Diagnostics and Services·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Dogs and Cats from Southern Germany and Northern Italy during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Plain-English summary
A cat from a COVID-19-affected household in Italy tested positive for the virus SARS-CoV-2 during the early pandemic, while a dog showed a potential positive result that wasn't confirmed. Out of 877 dogs and 260 cats tested, only one cat was confirmed to have the virus, and a small number of dogs had antibodies indicating past exposure. This suggests that while pets can get infected, the overall risk of them spreading the virus to humans was low during the first wave of COVID-19.
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Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has affected millions of people globally since its first detection in late 2019. Besides humans, cats and, to some extent, dogs were shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, highlighting the need for surveillance in a One Health context. Seven veterinary clinics from regions with high incidences of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were recruited during the early pandemic (March to July 2020) for the screening of patients. A total of 2257 oropharyngeal and nasal swab specimen from 877 dogs and 260 cats (including 18 animals from COVID-19-affected households and 92 animals with signs of respiratory disease) were analyzed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using reverse transcriptase real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) targeting the viral envelope (E) and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) genes. One oropharyngeal swab from an Italian cat, living in a COVID-19-affected household in Piedmont, tested positive in RT-qPCR (1/260; 0.38%, 95% CI: 0.01-2.1%), and SARS-CoV-2 infection of the animal was serologically confirmed six months later. One oropharyngeal swab from a dog was potentially positive (1/877; 0.1%, 95% CI: 0.002-0.63%), but the result was not confirmed in a reference laboratory. Analyses of convenience sera from 118 animals identified one dog (1/94; 1.1%; 95% CI: 0.02-5.7%) from Lombardy, but no cats (0/24), as positive for anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) antibodies and neutralizing activity. These findings support the hypothesis that the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in pet cat and dog populations, and hence, the risk of zoonotic transmission to veterinary staff, was low during the first wave of the pandemic, even in hotspot areas.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34452319/