Possible Human-to-Dog Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Italy, 2020.

Nicola Decaro,Dominga Ricci,Umberto Agrimi,Gabriele Vaccari,Sergio Rosati,Barbara Colitti,Grant L Hughes,Luca De Sabato,Domenico Buonavoglia,Alessio Lorusso,Gabriella Elia,Cesare Cammà,Ilaria Di Bartolo,Vito Martella,Eleonora Lorusso,Edward I Patterson,Liana Teodori,Costantina Desario

doi:10.3201/eid2707.204959

Abstract

We detected severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in an otherwise healthy poodle living with 4 family members who had coronavirus disease. We observed antibodies in serum samples taken from the dog, indicating seroconversion. Full-length genome sequencing showed that the canine and human viruses were identical, suggesting human-to-animal transmission.

Highlights

All family members had signs and symptoms of COVID-19, the illness caused by SARS-CoV-2 infection
We used serologic assays to confirm the presence of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in an additional serum sample collected on December 12, 2020; the antibody titers were 1:80 for plaque reduction neutralization test (PRNT) and 1:20 for virus neutralization test (VNT) (Table)
SARS-CoV-2–specific antibodies in pets have been reported on a few occasions, and higher seroprevalence rates have been found in animals from households in which family members have COVID-19 [4,6,8]

Summary

Introduction

Possible Human-to-Dog Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Italy, 2020 Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), caused by infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in humans in Wuhan, China, in late December 2019, probably because of spillover from an unidentified animal host [1]. To which some coronaviruses are endemic [2], are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection [3,4].

Results

Conclusion