ABSTRACT
Background: As a highly popular choice for a household pet worldwide, domestic cats may carry pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) that pose severe risks to human health. However, our knowledge about pathogens and ARGs carried by cats remains limited. We aimed to identify public health-associated pathogens and ARGs in the respiratory tracts of domestic cats.Methods: In this genomic surveillance study, zoonotic viruses were identified through meta-transcriptome sequencing of 1454 oropharyngeal-nasal swabs collected from domestic cats in 22 Chinese provinces; while bacterial species and ARGs were identified using metagenomic sequencing. Potential role of domestic cats in transmitting specific virus such as Zika virus (ZIKV) was assessed in laboratory.Findings: We identified DNAs or RNAs of 85 viral species that can infect humans. Of particular note are SARS-related coronavirus, monkeypox virus, and ZIKV. For the first time, we demonstrated that domestic cats can be infected with and transmit ZIKV via mosquito bites. We also identified a substantial number of bacterial species associated with public health, including the ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter spp.) which showed a broad detection range. Additionally, a plentiful amount of ARGs, including those conferring resistance to the last resort antibiotics (carbapenems [blaNDM, blaOXA, blaVIM], colistin [mcr], and high-level tigecycline [tetX3, tetX4, tetX5, tetX6]), were also detected broadly.Interpretation: Although additional studies to isolate specific viruses (e.g., ZIKV) are needed, this study still provides comprehensive knowledge about the possible pathogens and ARGs carried by domestic cats from large geographic regions in China. It is important to monitoring domestic cats within the One Health approach to control these critical global public health issues.Funding: This work was supported by National Key Research and Development Program of China (2022YFD1800105, 2022YFD1801500, 2021YFC2600204), National Natural Science Foundation of China (32022082, 31972721), Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province (2021CFA056), and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Project 2662023PY005).Declaration of Interest: All authors declare no competing interests.Ethical Approval: This study was approved by the Animal Management and Ethics Committee of Huazhong Agricultural University. The reference ID number is 202303010001.