Vet Res Commun . A cross-sectional serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 and co-infections in stray cats from the second wave to the sixth wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in Spain

[tetano]

Vet Res Commun


. 2022 Oct 14.
doi: 10.1007/s11259-022-10016-7. Online ahead of print.
A cross-sectional serosurvey of SARS-CoV-2 and co-infections in stray cats from the second wave to the sixth wave of COVID-19 outbreaks in Spain


Sergio Villanueva-Saz ^{1 2 3} , Mariví Martínez ^{4 5} , Jacobo Giner ^{4 5} , Ana González ^{4 6} , Ana Pilar Tobajas ^{7 8} , María Dolores Pérez ^{7 8} , Erandi Lira-Navarrete ⁹ , Andrés Manuel González-Ramírez ⁹ , Javier Macías-León ⁹ , Maite Verde ^{4 7 6} , Andrés Yzuel ⁴ , Ramón Hurtado-Guerrero ^{9 10 11 12 13} , Maykel Arias ^{14 15} , Llipsy Santiago ^{14 15} , Jordi Aguiló-Gisbert ¹⁶ , Héctor Ruíz ⁵ , Delia Lacasta ^{5 7} , Diana Marteles ⁴ , Antonio Fernández ^{17 18 19}



Affiliations

• PMID: 36229725
• DOI: 10.1007/s11259-022-10016-7

Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 is the causative agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 in humans. Among domestic animals, cats are more susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 than dogs. The detection of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in seemingly healthy cats and/or infected cats which are in close contact with infected humans has been described. The presence of animals that tested positive by serology or molecular techniques could represent a potential transmission pathway of SARS-CoV-2 that can spill over into urban wildlife. This study analyses the seroprevalence variation of SARS-CoV-2 in stray cats from different waves of outbreaks in a geographical area where previous seroepidemiological information of SARS-CoV-2 was available and investigate if SARS-CoV-2-seropositive cats were exposed to other co-infections causing an immunosuppressive status and/or a chronic disease that could lead to a SARS-CoV-2 susceptibility. For this purpose, a total of 254 stray cats from Zaragoza (Spain) were included. This analysis was carried out by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using the receptor binding domain of Spike antigen and confirmed by serum virus neutralization assay. The presence of co-infections including Toxoplasma gondii, Leishmania infantum, Dirofilaria immitis, feline calicivirus, feline herpesvirus type 1, feline leukemia virus and feline immunodeficiency virus, was evaluated using different serological methods. A seropositivity of 1.57% was observed for SARS-CoV-2 including the presence of neutralizing antibodies in three cats. None of the seropositive to SARS-CoV-2 cats were positive to feline coronavirus, however, four SARS-CoV-2-seropositive cats were also seropositive to other pathogens such as L. infantum, D. immitis and FIV (n = 1), L. infantum and D. immitis (n = 1) and L. infantum alone (n = 1).Considering other pathogens, a seroprevalence of 16.54% was detected for L. infantum, 30.31% for D. immitis, 13.78%, for T. gondii, 83.86% for feline calicivirus, 42.52% for feline herpesvirus type 1, 3.15% for FeLV and 7.87% for FIV.Our findings suggest that the epidemiological role of stray cats in SARS-CoV-2 transmission is scarce, and there is no increase in seropositivity during the different waves of COVID-19 outbreaks in this group of animals. Further epidemiological surveillances are necessary to determine the risk that other animals might possess even though stray cats do not seem to play a role in transmission.

Keywords: COVID-19, stray cats; ELISA; SARS-CoV-2; Serology; VNT.