SARS-CoV-2 infection in one cat and three dogs living in
COVID-19-positive households in Madrid, Spain
Abstract
In this study, we describe SARS-CoV-2 infection dynamics in one cat
(case 1-Chester) and three dogs (case 2-Trasto, case 3-Bella and case
4-Bull) from households with confirmed human cases of COVID-19 living in
the Madrid Community (Spain) at the time of expansion (December 2020
through June 2021) of the alpha variant of SARS-CoV-2 (lineage B.1.1.7).
A thorough physical exam and nasopharyngeal, oropharyngeal, and rectal
swabs were collected for real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR)
SARS-CoV-2 testing on day 0 and in successive samplings on days 7, 14,
21 and 47 during monitoring. Blood was also drawn to determine complete
blood counts, biochemical profiles, and serology of the detect the IgG
response against SARS-CoV-2. On day 0, the cat case 1 presented with
dyspnoea and fever associated with a mild bronchoalveolar pattern. The
dog cases 2, 3 and 4 were healthy, but case 2 presented with coughing,
dyspnoea and weakness, and case 4 exhibited coughing and bilateral nasal
discharge three and six days before the clinical exam. Case 3 (from the
same household as case 2) remained asymptomatic. SARS-CoV-2 infection
was detected in all cat and dog cases. The cat and the dog case 2
exhibited the lowest cycle threshold (Ct) (Ct < 30) when they
presented or had recently presented clinical signs. Viral detection
failed in successive samplings. Specific IgG antibodies were detected in
the cat case 1 and dog cases 3 and 4, whereas dog case 2 seroconverted
21 days after SARS-CoV-2 detection. SARS-CoV-2 genome sequencing was
carried out, and genomes were compared to the SARS-CoV-2 Genome
Reference Sequence. All strains were unambiguously classified as
belonging to the B.1.1.7 lineage.