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Respiratory disease in cats associated with human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK

View ORCID ProfileMargaret J Hosie, View ORCID ProfileIlaria Epifano, View ORCID ProfileVanessa Herder, View ORCID ProfileRichard J Orton, View ORCID ProfileAndrew Stevenson, View ORCID ProfileNatasha Johnson, Emma MacDonald, View ORCID ProfileDawn Dunbar, View ORCID ProfileMichael McDonald, View ORCID ProfileFiona Howie, View ORCID ProfileBryn Tennant, View ORCID ProfileDarcy Herrity, View ORCID ProfileAna Da Silva Filipe, View ORCID ProfileDaniel G Streicker, View ORCID ProfileBrian J Willett, View ORCID ProfilePablo R Murcia, View ORCID ProfileRuth F Jarrett, View ORCID ProfileDavid L Robertson, View ORCID ProfileWilliam Weir, the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.23.309948
Margaret J Hosie
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • For correspondence: margaret.hosie@glasgow.ac.uk
Ilaria Epifano
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Ilaria Epifano
Vanessa Herder
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Vanessa Herder
Richard J Orton
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Richard J Orton
Andrew Stevenson
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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Natasha Johnson
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Natasha Johnson
Emma MacDonald
2Veterinary Diagnostics Service, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH
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Dawn Dunbar
2Veterinary Diagnostics Service, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Dawn Dunbar
Michael McDonald
2Veterinary Diagnostics Service, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Michael McDonald
Fiona Howie
3SRUC Veterinary Services, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ
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Bryn Tennant
3SRUC Veterinary Services, Pentlands Science Park, Bush Loan, Penicuik, EH26 0PZ
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Darcy Herrity
4Fareham Creek Veterinary Surgery, 32 East Street, Fareham, Hampshire, PO16 0BY
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  • ORCID record for Darcy Herrity
Ana Da Silva Filipe
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Ana Da Silva Filipe
Daniel G Streicker
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
5Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ
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Brian J Willett
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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Pablo R Murcia
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for Pablo R Murcia
Ruth F Jarrett
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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David L Robertson
1MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, Bearsden, Glasgow G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for David L Robertson
William Weir
2Veterinary Diagnostics Service, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Bearsden, Glasgow, G61 1QH
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  • ORCID record for William Weir
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Abstract

Two cats from different COVID-19-infected households in the UK were found to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 from humans, demonstrated by immunofluorescence, in situ hybridisation, reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR and viral genome sequencing. Lung tissue collected post-mortem from cat 1 displayed pathological and histological findings consistent with viral pneumonia and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 antigens and RNA. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in an oropharyngeal swab collected from cat 2 that presented with rhinitis and conjunctivitis. High throughput sequencing of the virus from cat 2 revealed that the feline viral genome contained five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) compared to the nearest UK human SARS-CoV-2 sequence. An analysis of cat 2’s viral genome together with nine other feline-derived SARS-CoV-2 sequences from around the world revealed no shared catspecific mutations. These findings indicate that human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, with the infected cats developing mild or severe respiratory disease. Given the versatility of the new coronavirus, it will be important to monitor for human-to-cat, cat-to-cat and cat-to-human transmission.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • ↵6 https://www.cogconsortium.uk. Full list of consortium names and affiliations listed in supplementary materials.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted September 23, 2020.
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Respiratory disease in cats associated with human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK
Margaret J Hosie, Ilaria Epifano, Vanessa Herder, Richard J Orton, Andrew Stevenson, Natasha Johnson, Emma MacDonald, Dawn Dunbar, Michael McDonald, Fiona Howie, Bryn Tennant, Darcy Herrity, Ana Da Silva Filipe, Daniel G Streicker, Brian J Willett, Pablo R Murcia, Ruth F Jarrett, David L Robertson, William Weir, the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium
bioRxiv 2020.09.23.309948; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.23.309948
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Respiratory disease in cats associated with human-to-cat transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in the UK
Margaret J Hosie, Ilaria Epifano, Vanessa Herder, Richard J Orton, Andrew Stevenson, Natasha Johnson, Emma MacDonald, Dawn Dunbar, Michael McDonald, Fiona Howie, Bryn Tennant, Darcy Herrity, Ana Da Silva Filipe, Daniel G Streicker, Brian J Willett, Pablo R Murcia, Ruth F Jarrett, David L Robertson, William Weir, the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium
bioRxiv 2020.09.23.309948; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.23.309948

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