Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic raised concerns that companion animals might be infected with, and could become a reservoir of, SARS-CoV-2. As cats are popular pets and susceptible to Coronavirus, we investigated the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in shelter cats housed in Dutch animal shelters during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this large-scale cross-sectional study, serum samples of shelter cats were collected during the second wave of human COVID-19 infections in The Netherlands. Seroprevalence was determined by using an indirect protein-based ELISA validated for cats, and a Virus Neutralization Test (VNT) as confirmation. To screen for feline SARS-CoV-2 shedding, oropharyngeal and rectal swabs of cats positive for ELISA and/or VNT were analyzed using PCR tests. In 28 Dutch animal shelters, 240 shelter cats were convenience sampled. Two of these cats (0.8%; CI 95%: 0.1–3.0%) were seropositive, as evidenced by the presence of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. The seropositive animals tested PCR negative for SARS-CoV-2. Based on the results of this study, it is unlikely that shelter cats could be a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 or pose a (significant) risk to public health.
Highlights
The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections among the human population in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 was the start of a pandemic, which spread quickly around the world by transmission via close contact between people
Two of the samples were positive for Virus Neutralization Test (VNT), giving a seroprevalence of 0.8% against SARS-CoV-2, based on the criteria defined in the study by
Zhao et al Based on the results of this study, it is unlikely that animal shelters create a potential spillover of SARS-CoV-2 to shelter cats and, to humans
Summary
The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 infections among the human population in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019 was the start of a pandemic, which spread quickly around the world by transmission via close contact between people. Several non-human animal species are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2, including cats, dogs, and mink. From the start of the pandemic, feline cases of naturally SARS-CoV-2-infected individual domestic cats were reported in several countries, such as Hong Kong, Japan, and Russia; in Europe: Belgium, France, Spain, and Germany; the USA, Canada; in South America: Chile and Brazil [5]. The ability of the virus to transmit between cats [6,7] was demonstrated after experimental infection found feline susceptibility to be comparable with SARS-CoV infection in 2003 [8]. The ability of the virus to transmit between cats [6,7] was demonstrated after experimental infection found feline susceptibility to be comparable with SARS-CoV infection in 2003 [8]. 4.0/).
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