Emerging Infectious Diseases (Jul 2021)

Prolonged SARS-CoV-2 RNA Shedding from Therapy Cat after Cluster Outbreak in Retirement Home

  • Claudia Schulz,
  • Claudia Wylezich,
  • Kerstin Wernike,
  • Magdalena Gründl,
  • Alexandra Dangel,
  • Christine Baechlein,
  • Donata Hoffmann,
  • Susanne Röhrs,
  • Sabrina Hepner,
  • Nikolaus Ackermann,
  • Andreas Sing,
  • Isabelle Pink,
  • Beate Länger,
  • Holger A. Volk,
  • Paul Becher,
  • Gerd Sutter,
  • Antonie Neubauer-Juric,
  • Maren von Köckritz-Blickwede,
  • Martin Beer,
  • Asisa Volz

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2707.204670
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 27, no. 7
pp. 1974 – 1976

Abstract

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We report a therapy cat in a nursing home in Germany infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 during a cluster outbreak in the home residents. Although we confirmed prolonged presence of virus RNA in the asymptomatic cat, genome sequencing showed no further role of the cat in human infections on site.

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