O-08 Studies on the zoonotic potential of sars-cov-2 from dogs and cats
Author(s):
V Matthew-Belmar, CNL Macpherson, TP Noel, C Oura, B Sharma, K Yearwood, P Fields, W Sylvester, N Noel, E Chitan, N Cudjoe, V Alexander, A Alhassan
Year of Presentation:
2024
Objective: SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious virus known to infect humans and animals. Numerous reports have
shown that the virus infects humans, wildlife, domesticated and farm animals. Zoonotic variants of the virus have shown to have risen and may have implications for global health. The aim of this study was to determine if dogs and cats in households with and without human SARS-CoV-2 infection might act as potential reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2.
Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to April 2022 among dogs (144) and cats (22) in households (17) with and without (79) cases of human SARS-CoV-2 infection in Grenada. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were taken from the dogs and cats to detect SARS-CoV-2. Samples were stored on ice and transported to the Laboratory to process using qRT-PCR, targeting the E and RdRP genes respectively
Results: 16 (11%) out of 144 dogs and 5 (23%) out of 22 cats tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positive animals were found in 17 (18%) of households with positive individuals. No positive pets were detected in households without COVID-19. Significant (p-value <0.0001) and a large positive association (effect size phi=0.64) was found to exist between humans with COVID-19 and their pets. Sequence analysis of positive pets were 100% identical to SARS-CoV-2.
Conclusion: The study confirms the detection of SARS-CoV-2 infections in cats and dogs in Grenada. All infections in pet animals had a SARS-CoV-2 positive owner. Human and pet animals were positive synchronously, but the route of transmission from humans to their pets or their pets to humans remains equivocal. A review of the available global literature on the potential for zoonotic maintenance or transmission to humans from pets will be presented.