Absence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cats and dogs in close contact with a cluster of COVID-19 patients in a veterinary campus
Sarah Temmam,
Alix Barbarino,
Djérène Maso,
Sylvie Behillil,
Vincent Enouf,
Christèle Huon,
Ambre Jaraud,
Lucie Chevallier,
Marija Backovic,
Philippe Pérot,
Patrick Verwaerde,
Laurent Tiret,
Sylvie van der Werf,
Marc Eloit
Affiliations
Sarah Temmam
Institut Pasteur, Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, Paris, France; Institut Pasteur, The OIE Collaborating Centre for Detection and Identification in Humans of Emerging Animal Pathogens, Paris, France
Alix Barbarino
École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France
Djérène Maso
École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France
Sylvie Behillil
Institut Pasteur, National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses, Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses, CNRS-UMR 3569, Univ Paris, Paris, France
Vincent Enouf
Institut Pasteur, National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses, Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses, CNRS-UMR 3569, Univ Paris, Paris, France
Christèle Huon
Institut Pasteur, Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, Paris, France
Ambre Jaraud
École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France; Univ Paris Est Creteil, INSERM, IMRB, Creteil, France; EFS, IMRB, Creteil, France
Lucie Chevallier
École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France; Univ Paris Est Creteil, INSERM, IMRB, Creteil, France; EFS, IMRB, Creteil, France
Marija Backovic
Institut Pasteur, Unité de Virologie Structurale - CNRS, UMR3569, Paris, France
Philippe Pérot
Institut Pasteur, Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, Paris, France; Institut Pasteur, The OIE Collaborating Centre for Detection and Identification in Humans of Emerging Animal Pathogens, Paris, France
Patrick Verwaerde
École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France; Univ Paris Est Creteil, INSERM, IMRB, Creteil, France
Laurent Tiret
École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France; Univ Paris Est Creteil, INSERM, IMRB, Creteil, France; EFS, IMRB, Creteil, France
Sylvie van der Werf
Institut Pasteur, National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses, Molecular Genetics of RNA Viruses, CNRS-UMR 3569, Univ Paris, Paris, France
Marc Eloit
Institut Pasteur, Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, Paris, France; Institut Pasteur, The OIE Collaborating Centre for Detection and Identification in Humans of Emerging Animal Pathogens, Paris, France; École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort, Maisons-Alfort, France; Institut Pasteur, Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, Paris, France; Corresponding author at: Institut Pasteur, Pathogen Discovery Laboratory, Paris, France.
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which originated in Wuhan, China, in 2019, is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. It is now accepted that the wild fauna, probably bats, constitute the initial reservoir of the virus, but little is known about the role pets can play in the spread of the disease in human communities, knowing the ability of SARS-CoV-2 to infect some domestic animals. In this cross-sectional study, we tested the antibody response in a cluster of 21 domestic pets (9 cats and 12 dogs) living in close contact with their owners (belonging to a veterinary community of 20 students) in which two students tested positive for COVID-19 and several others (n = 11/18) consecutively showed clinical signs (fever, cough, anosmia, etc.) compatible with COVID-19 infection. Although a few pets presented many clinical signs indicative for a coronavirus infection, no antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were detectable in their blood one month after the index case was reported, using an immunoprecipitation assay. These original data can serve a better evaluation of the host range of SARS-CoV-2 in natural environment exposure conditions.
