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Case Reports
. 2020 Nov;67(6):2324-2328.
doi: 10.1111/tbed.13659. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

First detection and genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in an infected cat in France

Corinne Sailleau  1 , Marine Dumarest  1 , Jessica Vanhomwegen  2   3 , Manon Delaplace  1 , Valerie Caro  2   3 , Aurélia Kwasiborski  2   3 , Véronique Hourdel  2   3 , Patrick Chevaillier  4 , Alix Barbarino  5 , Loic Comtet  6 , Philippe Pourquier  6 , Bernard Klonjkowski  1 , Jean-Claude Manuguerra  2   3 , Stephan Zientara  1 , Sophie Le Poder  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

First detection and genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in an infected cat in France

Corinne Sailleau et al. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2020 Nov.

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.

Keywords: ELISA; SARS-CoV-2; cats; luminex; next-generation sequencing; pets.

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References

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