Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in a cat owned by a COVID-19−affected patient in Spain
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Author
Puig, Mariona
Rodon, Jordi
Avila-Nieto, Carlos
Carrillo, Jorge
Cantero, Guillermo
Terrón, Maria Teresa
Cruz, Sílvia
Parera, Mariona
Noguera-Julián, Marc
Izquierdo-Useros, Nuria
Guallar, Víctor
Valencia, Alfonso
Blanco, Ignacio
Blanco, Julià
Clotet, Bonaventura
Vergara-Alert, Júlia
Publication date
2020-09-18ISSN
0027-8424
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of COVID-19, is considered a zoonotic pathogen mainly transmitted human to human. Few reports indicate that pets may be exposed to the virus. The present report describes a cat suffering from severe respiratory distress and thrombocytopenia living with a family with several members affected by COVID-19. Clinical signs of the cat prompted humanitarian euthanasia and a detailed postmortem investigation to assess whether a COVID-19-like disease was causing the condition. Necropsy results showed the animal suffered from feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and severe pulmonary edema and thrombosis. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was only detected in nasal swab, nasal turbinates, and mesenteric lymph node, but no evidence of histopathological lesions compatible with a viral infection were detected. The cat seroconverted against SARS-CoV-2, further evidencing a productive infection in this animal. We conclude that the animal had a subclinical SARS-CoV-2 infection concomitant to an unrelated cardiomyopathy that led to euthanasia.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
619 - Veterinary science
Pages
4
Publisher
National Academy of Sciences
Is part of
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)
Citation
Segalés, Joaquim, Mariona Puig, Jordi Rodon, Carlos Avila-Nieto, Jorge Carrillo, Guillermo Cantero, and Maria Teresa Terrón et al. 2020. "Detection Of SARS-Cov-2 In A Cat Owned By A COVID-19−Affected Patient In Spain". Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences 117 (40): 24790-24793. doi:10.1073/pnas.2010817117.
Program
Sanitat Animal
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- ARTICLES CIENTÍFICS [2685]
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/