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. 2022 Jul;28(7):1485-1488.
doi: 10.3201/eid2807.212605. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Suspected Cat-to-Human Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Thailand, July-September 2021

Thanit Sila, Jutapoln Sunghan, Wison Laochareonsuk, Smonrapat Surasombatpattana, Chanon Kongkamol, Thammasin Ingviya, Pisud Siripaitoon, Narongdet Kositpantawong, Siripen Kanchanasuwan, Thanaporn Hortiwakul, Boonsri Charernmak, Ozioma Forstinus Nwabor, Kachornsakdi Silpapojakul, Sarunyou Chusri

Suspected Cat-to-Human Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Thailand, July-September 2021

Thanit Sila et al. Emerg Infect Dis. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

A veterinarian in Thailand was diagnosed with COVID-19 after being sneezed on by an infected cat owned by an infected patient. Genetic study supported the hypothesis of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from the owner to the cat, and then from the cat to the veterinarian.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Thailand; cat; coronavirus disease; feline; respiratory infections; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; vaccine-preventable diseases; viruses; zoonoses.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Timeline of suspected cat-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Thailand, August 2021.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Phylogenetic tree of SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences retrieved from patients A, B, and C and the cat belonging to patients B and C (yellow shading) compared with reference sequences from COVID-19 patients from Songkhla Province, Thailand, July–September 2021. Tree constructed with IQ-TREE (http://www.iqtree.org) by using the maximum-likelihood method and 1,000 bootstrap replicates.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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