RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 One Health Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Seropositivity among Pets in Households with Confirmed Human COVID-19 Cases — Utah and Wisconsin, 2020
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.04.11.439379
DO 10.1101/2021.04.11.439379
A1 Grace W. Goryoka
A1 Caitlin M. Cossaboom
A1 Radhika Gharpure
A1 Patrick Dawson
A1 Cassandra Tansey
A1 John Rossow
A1 Victoria Mrotz
A1 Jane Rooney
A1 Mia Torchetti
A1 Christina M. Loiacono
A1 Mary L. Killian
A1 Melinda Jenkins-Moore
A1 Ailam Lim
A1 Keith Poulsen
A1 Dan Christensen
A1 Emma Sweet
A1 Dallin Peterson
A1 Anna L. Sangster
A1 Erin L. Young
A1 Kelly F. Oakeson
A1 Dean Taylor
A1 Amanda Price
A1 Tair Kiphibane
A1 Rachel Klos
A1 Darlene Konkle
A1 Sanjib Bhattacharyya
A1 Trivikram Dasu
A1 Victoria T. Chu
A1 Nathaniel M. Lewis
A1 Krista Queen
A1 Jing Zhang
A1 Anna Uehara
A1 Elizabeth A. Dietrich
A1 Suxiang Tong
A1 Hannah L. Kirking
A1 Jeffrey R. Doty
A1 Laura S. Murrell
A1 Jessica R. Spengler
A1 Anne Straily
A1 Ryan Wallace
A1 Casey Barton Behravesh
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/13/2021.04.11.439379.abstract
AB Background Approximately 67% of U.S. households have pets. Limited data are available on SARS-CoV-2 in pets. We assessed SARS-CoV-2 infection in pet cohabitants as a sub-study of an ongoing COVID-19 household transmission investigation.Methods Mammalian pets from households with ≥1 person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 were eligible for inclusion from April–May 2020. Demographic/exposure information, oropharyngeal, nasal, rectal, and fur swabs, feces, and blood were collected from enrolled pets and tested by rRT-PCR and virus neutralization assays.Findings We enrolled 37 dogs and 19 cats from 34 of 41 eligible households. All oropharyngeal, nasal, and rectal swabs tested negative by rRT-PCR; one dog’s fur swabs (2%) tested positive by rRT-PCR at the first animal sampling. Among 47 pets with serological results from 30 households, eight (17%) pets (4 dogs, 4 cats) from 6 (20%) households had detectable SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. In households with a seropositive pet, the proportion of people with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 was greater (median 79%; range: 40–100%) compared to households with no seropositive pet (median 37%; range: 13–100%) (p=0.01). Thirty-three pets with serologic results had frequent daily contact (≥1 hour) with the human index patient before the person’s COVID-19 diagnosis. Of these 33 pets, 14 (42%) had decreased contact with the human index patient after diagnosis and none (0%) were seropositive; of the 19 (58%) pets with continued contact, 4 (21%) were seropositive.Interpretations Seropositive pets likely acquired infection from humans, which may occur more frequently than previously recognized. People with COVID-19 should restrict contact with animals.Funding Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of AgricultureCompeting Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.