Virology: SARS virus infection of cats and ferrets

Abstract

The reservoir of the coronavirus isolated from patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)^, is still unknown, but is suspected to have been a wild animal species. Here we show that ferrets (Mustela furo) and domestic cats (Felis domesticus) are susceptible to infection by SARS coronavirus (SCV) and that they can efficiently transmit the virus to previously uninfected animals that are housed with them. The observation that these two distantly related carnivores can so easily be infected with the virus indicates that the reservoir for this pathogen may involve a range of animal species.

Supplementary information: The online version of this article (doi:10.1038/425915a) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Figure 1. Daily excretion of SARS coronavirus (SCV) in ferrets and domestic cats after inoculation with the virus or exposure to infected animals.

a, b, SCV titres per ml from cats (a) and ferrets (b) (n = 6 of each) that had been inoculated with SCV through the respiratory route. Four animals from each group were killed on the fourth day after infection, and two were kept until day 28. c, d, SCV titres from non-inoculated cats (c) and ferrets (d) (n = 2 of each) that had been housed with inoculated cats and ferrets, respectively. SCV excretion was quantified in pharyngeal swabs by using reverse transcription with the polymerase chain reaction, and was compared to a titrated SCV standard. ND, not determined.