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. 2021 May 19;13(5):938.
doi: 10.3390/v13050938.

SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Viral Isolations among Serially Tested Cats and Dogs in Households with Infected Owners in Texas, USA

Sarah A Hamer  1 , Alex Pauvolid-Corrêa  1   2 , Italo B Zecca  1 , Edward Davila  1 , Lisa D Auckland  1 , Christopher M Roundy  3 , Wendy Tang  3 , Mia Kim Torchetti  4 , Mary Lea Killian  4 , Melinda Jenkins-Moore  4 , Katie Mozingo  4 , Yao Akpalu  5 , Ria R Ghai  6 , Jessica R Spengler  6 , Casey Barton Behravesh  6 , Rebecca S B Fischer  7 , Gabriel L Hamer  3
Affiliations

SARS-CoV-2 Infections and Viral Isolations among Serially Tested Cats and Dogs in Households with Infected Owners in Texas, USA

Sarah A Hamer et al. Viruses. .

Abstract

Understanding the ecological and epidemiological roles of pets in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for animal and human health, identifying household reservoirs, and predicting the potential enzootic maintenance of the virus. We conducted a longitudinal household transmission study of 76 dogs and cats living with at least one SARS-CoV-2-infected human in Texas and found that 17 pets from 25.6% of 39 households met the national case definition for SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals. This includes three out of seventeen (17.6%) cats and one out of fifty-nine (1.7%) dogs that were positive by RT-PCR and sequencing, with the virus successfully isolated from the respiratory swabs of one cat and one dog. Whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 obtained from all four PCR-positive animals were unique variants grouping with genomes circulating among people with COVID-19 in Texas. Re-sampling showed persistence of viral RNA for at least 25 d-post initial test. Additionally, seven out of sixteen (43.8%) cats and seven out of fifty-nine (11.9%) dogs harbored SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies upon initial sampling, with relatively stable or increasing titers over the 2-3 months of follow-up and no evidence of seroreversion. The majority (82.4%) of infected pets were asymptomatic. 'Reverse zoonotic' transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from infected people to animals may occur more frequently than recognized.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; cats; dogs; neutralizing antibodies; reverse zoonosis; virus isolation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Phylogenetic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 whole genome sequences obtained from this study. These include three cats and one dog (red; animal ID: TAMU-013, 057, 077, 078) and SARS-CoV-2 genomes from feline and canine hosts based on prior studies (blue) and from humans from Texas (black). The analysis used RAxML with the GTRCAT model [23].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Multi-pet households in which at least one pet in the house was initially positive by PCR analyses or virus neutralization. All pets in the household were followed longitudinally to track duration of positive test results and changes in antibody titers over time. PCR status is based on preliminary screening Ct of <40 on RdRp, E, N1 and/or N2 gene target from any diagnostic swab type (respiratory, rectal, or body swab; positive results here do not necessarily indicate USDA case definition has been met. Virus neutralization titer was determined by a two-fold serial dilution of sera.
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