RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies in Dogs and Cats in the United Kingdom
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 2021.06.23.449594
DO 10.1101/2021.06.23.449594
A1 Shirley L. Smith
A1 Enyia. R. Anderson
A1 Cintia Cansado-Utrilla
A1 Tessa Prince
A1 Sean Farrell
A1 Bethaney Brant
A1 Stephen Smyth
A1 Peter-John M. Noble
A1 Gina L. Pinchbeck
A1 Nikki Marshall
A1 Larry Roberts
A1 Grant L. Hughes
A1 Alan D. Radford
A1 Edward I. Patterson
YR 2021
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/06/23/2021.06.23.449594.abstract
AB Companion animals are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and sporadic cases of pet infections have occurred in the United Kingdom. Here we present the first large-scale serological survey of SARS-CoV-2 neutralising antibodies in dogs and cats in the UK. Results are reported for 688 sera (454 canine, 234 feline) collected by a large veterinary diagnostic laboratory for routine haematology during three time periods; pre-COVID-19 (January 2020), during the first wave of UK human infections (April-May 2020) and during the second wave of UK human infections (September 2020-February 2021). Both pre-COVID-19 sera and those from the first wave tested negative. However, in sera collected during the second wave, 1.4% (n=4) of dogs and 2.2% (n=2) cats tested positive for neutralising antibodies. The low numbers of animals testing positive suggests pet animals are unlikely to be a major reservoir for human infection in the UK. However, continued surveillance of in-contact susceptible animals should be performed as part of ongoing population health surveillance initiatives.Competing Interest StatementNM and LR are employed by IDEXX Laboratories. All other authors declare no competing interests.