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. 2022 Jul;69(4):e759-e774.
doi: 10.1111/tbed.14366. Epub 2021 Nov 16.

Large-scale study on virological and serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in cats and dogs in Spain

Sandra Barroso-Arévalo  1   2 , Alberto Barneto  3 , Ángel Manuel Ramos  4   5 , Belén Rivera  1   2 , Rocío Sánchez  1   2 , Lidia Sánchez-Morales  1   2 , Marta Pérez-Sancho  1   2 , Aránzazu Buendía  1   2 , Elisa Ferreras  6 , Juan Carlos Ortiz-Menéndez  7 , Inmaculada Moreno  8 , Consuelo Serres  9 , Carmen Vela  10 , María Ángeles Risalde  11   12 , Lucas Domínguez  1   2 , José M Sánchez-Vizcaíno  1   2
Affiliations

Large-scale study on virological and serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in cats and dogs in Spain

Sandra Barroso-Arévalo et al. Transbound Emerg Dis. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

The disease produced by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is currently one of the primary concerns worldwide. Knowing the zoonotic origin of the disease and that several animal species, including dogs and cats, are susceptible to viral infection, it is critical to assess the relevance of pets in this pandemic. Here, we performed a large-scale study on SARS-CoV-2 serological and viral prevalence in cats and dogs in Spain in order to elucidate their role and susceptibility. Samples from animals in contact with COVID-19 positive people and/or compatible symptoms (n = 492), as well as from random animals (n = 1024), were taken. Despite the large number of animals analyzed, only 12 animals (eight dogs and four cats), which represents 0.79% of the total analyzed animals (n = 1516), were positive for viral SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection by reverse transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) in which viral isolation was possible in four animals. We detected neutralizing antibodies in 34 animals, four of them were also positive for PCR. This study evidences that pets are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection in natural conditions but at a low level, as evidenced by the low percentage of positive animals detected, being infected humans the main source of infection. However, the inclusion of animals in the surveillance of COVID-19 is still recommended.

Keywords: RT-qPCR; SARS-CoV-2; cats; dogs; neutralizing antibodies; viral isolation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Distribution of percentage of the total number of animals (dogs and cats) in each Autonomous Community in the period elapsed between July 2020 and April 2021
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Maximum likelihood phylogeny was estimated with n = 59 complete genomes sequences from the current (2019−2021) SARS‐CoV‐2 retrieved from GISAID. Open square indicates references from this study; open circle indicates the reference genome from Wuhan. Number along branch represents bootstrap score. Scale bar represents expected substitutions per nucleotide site
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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