Anthropogenic Infection of Cats during the 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

Margaret J. Hosie, Regina Hofmann-Lehmann, Katrin Hartmann, Herman Egberink, Uwe Truyen, Diane D. Addie, Sándor Belák, Corine Boucraut-baralon, Tadeusz Frymus, Albert Lloret, Hans Lutz, Fulvio Marsilio, Maria Grazia Pennisi, Séverine Tasker, Etienne Thiry, Karin Möstl

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

61 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

COVID-19 is a severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) caused by a new coronavirus (CoV), SARS-CoV-2, which is closely related to SARS-CoV that jumped the animal–human species barrier and caused a disease outbreak in 2003. SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus that was first described in 2019, unrelated to the commonly occurring feline coronavirus (FCoV) that is an alphacoronavirus associated with feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). SARS-CoV-2 is highly contagious and has spread globally within a few months, resulting in the current pandemic. Felids have been shown to be susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Particularly in the Western world, many people live in very close contact with their pet cats, and natural infections of cats in COVID-19-positive households have been described in several countries. In this review, the European Advisory Board on Cat Diseases (ABCD), a scientifically independent board of experts in feline medicine from 11 European Countries, discusses the current status of SARS-CoV infections in cats. The review examines the host range of SARS-CoV-2 and human-to-animal transmissions, including infections in domestic and non-domestic felids, as well as mink-to-human/-cat transmission. It summarises current data on SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in domestic cats and the results of experimental infections of cats and provides expert opinions on the clinical relevance and prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection in cats.
Original languageEnglish
Article number185
Pages (from-to)185
JournalViruses
Volume13
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 26 Jan 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Funding: ABCD Europe gratefully acknowledges the support of Boehringer Ingelheim (the founding sponsor of the ABCD) and Virbac.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Research Groups and Themes

  • Covid19

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