SARS-CoV-2 Transmission from Human to Pet and Suspected Transmission from Pet to Human, Thailand.
J Clin Microbiol
; 60(11): e0105822, 2022 11 16.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2097912
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has been the cause of human pandemic infection since late 2019. SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals has also been reported both naturally and experimentally, rendering awareness about a potential source of infection for one health concern. Here, we describe an epidemiological investigation of SARS-CoV-2 infection in 639 cats and 224 dogs throughout multiple waves of COVID-19 outbreaks in Thailand. To indicate the potential source of infection, we performed SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing of samples obtained from pets and contacted humans, combined with in-depth interviews to support the epidemiological investigation. In the tested animals, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was present in 23 cases (19 cats and 4 dogs). Whole-genome sequencing of selected samples showed various SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, which included the original European lineage (B.1), Alpha (B.1.1.7), Delta (B.1.617), and Omicron (BA.2). Among SARS-CoV-2-positive pets, 34.78% had evidence of contact with infected humans. Together with genomic analysis and an overlapping timeline, we revealed evidence of viral transmission from infected humans as the primary source, which spread to household cats via an undefined mode of transmission and most likely circulated between cohoused cats and caretakers within the weeks before the investigation. The SARS-CoV-2 surface glycoprotein (spike gene) obtained from caretakers of individual cats contained sequence signatures found in the sequences of infected cats, indicating possible exposure to the virus excreted by cats. Although pet-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is considered relatively rare, our study provides suspected episodes of human infection from animals that were initially infected through contact with infected humans.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
SARS-CoV-2
/
COVID-19
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Qualitative research
Topics:
Variants
Limits:
Animals
/
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Asia
Language:
English
Journal:
J Clin Microbiol
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Jcm.01058-22
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