A retrospective study of SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in dogs and cats in the Community of Madrid, Spain

Frontiers in Microbiology

Microbiology

Lidia Sánchez-Morales¹  Lucas Domínguez²  Sandra Barroso-Arévalo²  José M. Sánchez-Vizcaíno² 

[1] VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain;VISAVET Health Surveillance Centre, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain;Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain;

关键词: seroprevalence;    SARS-CoV-2;    domestic animals;    antibodies;    Spain;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fmicb.2023.1264172

 received in 2023-07-20, accepted in 2023-09-22,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

To date, susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection in domestic animals including cats and dogs has been described. However, it is important to carry out passive surveillance of these animals to be aware of any changes in the outcomes of the disease in these species that may occur. In this study, we have performed a retrospective study in which we analyzed sera (n = 1,640) from random animals: dogs (n = 1,381) and cats (n = 259) belonging to both homes (n = 1,533) and animal protection centers (n = 107) in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Neutralizing antibodies were evaluated between November 2021 and May 2022 using a surrogate ELISA kit to determine the seroprevalence. Based on the results obtained, a few animals (both cats and dogs) presented neutralizing antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 (2.3%), all of them from private owners. However, the seroprevalence in cats (4.6%) resulted to be almost twice as much as in dogs (1.9%) which reinforces that cats’ susceptibility to the infection seems higher than in the case of dogs, maybe due to the lower ACE2 expression of the dogs in the respiratory tract. These findings also confirm that the probability of infection is considerably higher in domestic animals in close contact with infected owners, compared to animals living in animal shelters whose contact with humans is markedly lower.

【 授权许可】

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Copyright © 2023 Sánchez-Morales, Sánchez-Vizcaíno, Domínguez and Barroso-Arévalo.