tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Viruses
. 2021 Mar 23;13(3):527.
doi: 10.3390/v13030527.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Antibody Response in a Symptomatic Cat from Italy with Intestinal B-Cell Lymphoma
Julia Klaus[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Carlo Palizzotto[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Eric Zini[SUP] 2 3 4 [/SUP], Marina L Meli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chiara Leo[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Herman Egberink[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Shan Zhao[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Regina Hofmann-Lehmann[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
Since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was first identified in early 2020, rare cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pet cats have been reported worldwide. Some reports of cats with SARS-CoV-2 showed self-limiting respiratory or gastrointestinal disease after suspected human-to-feline transmission via close contact with humans with SARS-CoV-2. In the present study, we investigated a cat with SARS-CoV-2 that was presented to a private animal clinic in Northern Italy in May 2020 in a weak clinical condition due to an underlying intestinal B-cell lymphoma. The cat developed signs of respiratory tract disease, including a sneeze, a cough and ocular discharge, three days after an oropharyngeal swab tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA using two real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays for the envelope (E) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detectable prior to the onset of clinical signs. Five and six months after positive molecular results, the serological testing substantiated the presence of a SARS-CoV-2 infection in the cat with the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies and neutralizing activity in a surrogate virus neutralization assay (sVNT). To the best of our knowledge, this extends the known duration of seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2 in a cat. Our study provides further evidence that cats are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 under natural conditions and strengthens the assumption that comorbidities may play a role in the development of clinical disease.
Keywords: B-cell lymphoma; RT-qPCR; SARS-CoV-2; comorbidity; companion animal; domestic cat; human-to-feline transmission; neutralizing activity; serology.
. 2021 Mar 23;13(3):527.
doi: 10.3390/v13030527.
SARS-CoV-2 Infection and Antibody Response in a Symptomatic Cat from Italy with Intestinal B-Cell Lymphoma
Julia Klaus[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Carlo Palizzotto[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Eric Zini[SUP] 2 3 4 [/SUP], Marina L Meli[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Chiara Leo[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Herman Egberink[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Shan Zhao[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Regina Hofmann-Lehmann[SUP] 1 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 33806922
- DOI: 10.3390/v13030527
Abstract
Since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was first identified in early 2020, rare cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in pet cats have been reported worldwide. Some reports of cats with SARS-CoV-2 showed self-limiting respiratory or gastrointestinal disease after suspected human-to-feline transmission via close contact with humans with SARS-CoV-2. In the present study, we investigated a cat with SARS-CoV-2 that was presented to a private animal clinic in Northern Italy in May 2020 in a weak clinical condition due to an underlying intestinal B-cell lymphoma. The cat developed signs of respiratory tract disease, including a sneeze, a cough and ocular discharge, three days after an oropharyngeal swab tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA using two real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays for the envelope (E) and RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene. Thus, SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was detectable prior to the onset of clinical signs. Five and six months after positive molecular results, the serological testing substantiated the presence of a SARS-CoV-2 infection in the cat with the detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 receptor binding domain (RBD) immunoglobulin (IgG) antibodies and neutralizing activity in a surrogate virus neutralization assay (sVNT). To the best of our knowledge, this extends the known duration of seropositivity of SARS-CoV-2 in a cat. Our study provides further evidence that cats are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 under natural conditions and strengthens the assumption that comorbidities may play a role in the development of clinical disease.
Keywords: B-cell lymphoma; RT-qPCR; SARS-CoV-2; comorbidity; companion animal; domestic cat; human-to-feline transmission; neutralizing activity; serology.