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Report of One-Year Prospective Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Dogs and Cats in France with Various Exposure Risks: Confirmation of a Low Prevalence of Shedding, Detection and Complete Sequencing of an Alpha Variant in a Cat.

Emilie Krafft1 Solène Denolly2 Bertrand Boson2 Sophie Angelloz-Pessey1 Sophie Levaltier3,4 Nicolas Nesi3 Sandrine Corbet4 Bryce Leterrier3,4 Matthieu Fritz5 Eric M Leroy5 Meriadeg Ar Gouilh3,4,5 François-Loïc Cosset2 Angeli Kodjo1 Vincent Legros1,2
Affiliations 5 institutions
  1. Campus Vétérinaire de Lyon, VetAgro Sup, Université de Lyon, 69280 Marcy-l'Etoile, France.
  2. CIRI-Centre International de Recherche en Infectiologie, Team EVIR, Université de Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Inserm, U111, CNRS, UMR5308, ENS Lyon, 69364 Lyon, France.
  3. Groupe de Recherche sur l'Adaptation Microbienne (GRAM 2.0), Normandie Université, UNICAEN, UNIROUEN, EA2656, 14032 Caen, France.
  4. Laboratoire de Virologie, Centre Hospitalo-Universitaire, 14033 Caen, France.
  5. Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Maladies Infectieuses et Vecteurs, Ecologie, Génétique, Evolution et Contrôle (MIVEGEC) (Université de Montpellier-IRD 224-CNRS 5290), 34394 Montpellier, France.
PMID 34578341 2021 Viruses eng epublish
PubMed DOI Browse context

Article

Publication summary

Despite the probable zoonotic origin of SARS-CoV-2, only limited research efforts have been made to understand the role of companion animals in SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology. According to recent serological prevalence studies, human-to-companion animal transmission is quite frequent, which led us to consider that the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission from animal to human, albeit negligible in the present context, may have been underestimated. In this study, we provide the results of a prospective survey that was conducted to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 isolation rate by qRT-PCR in dogs and cats with different exposure risks and clinical statuses. From April 2020 to April 2021, we analyzed 367 samples and investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using qRT-PCR. Only four animals tested positive, all of them being cats. Three cats were asymptomatic and one presented a coryza-like syndrome. We describe in detail the infection in two cats and the associated clinical characteristics. Importantly, we obtained SARS-CoV-2 genomes from one infected animal and characterized them as Alpha variants. This represents the first identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant in an infected animal in France.

prevalence SARS-CoV-2 sequencing variants zoonosis Animals Cat Diseases Cats COVID-19 Dog Diseases Dogs France Humans Male Pets Prevalence Prospective Studies Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Structured evidence records

Evidence records

3 total
Genomic Evolution 1 records
Genomic Evolution Extraction confidence 0.85
Key finding

Complete genomic sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 from a cat revealed the Alpha variant, marking the first identification of this variant in an animal in France.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
Not specified
Supporting text

Importantly, we obtained SARS-CoV-2 genomes from one infected animal and characterized them as Alpha variants. This represents the first identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant in an infected animal in France.

Genes or proteins
whole genome
Analysis methods
genome sequencing
Spillover Event 1 records
Spillover Event Extraction confidence 0.90
Key finding

Human-to-cat spillback of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant was confirmed in France, representing the first identification of this variant in an animal.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
France France
Supporting text

Only four animals tested positive, all of them being cats... Importantly, we obtained SARS-CoV-2 genomes from one infected animal and characterized them as Alpha variants. This represents the first identification of the SARS-CoV-2 Alpha variant in an infected animal in France.

Method
qRT-PCR; sequencing
Study design
field surveillance
Transmission direction
human-to-animal
Geographic raw
France
Country inferred
France
Zoonotic Surveillance 1 records
Zoonotic Surveillance Extraction confidence 0.98
Key finding

Prospective surveillance in France detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in four cats, with sequencing confirming the Alpha variant in one animal, indicating low shedding prevalence among domestic pets.

Virus
SARS-CoV-2
Location
France France
Supporting text

In this study, we provide the results of a prospective survey that was conducted to evaluate the SARS-CoV-2 isolation rate by qRT-PCR in dogs and cats with different exposure risks and clinical statuses. From April 2020 to April 2021, we analyzed 367 samples and investigated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using qRT-PCR. Only four animals tested positive, all of them being cats. Importantly, we obtained SARS-CoV-2 genomes from one infected animal and characterized them as Alpha variants.

Method
qRT-PCR; sequencing
Geographic raw
France
Country inferred
France