Pet Animals Were Infected with SARS-CoV-2 from Their Owners Who Developed COVID-19: Case Series Study

Yudai Kuroda; Kei Watanabe; Tsukasa Yamamoto; Hiroki Suzuki; Eun-Sil Park; Keita Ishijima; Kango Tatemoto; Milagros Virhuez-Mendoza; Yusuke Inoue; Michiko Harada; Ayano Nishino; Tsuyoshi Sekizuka; Makoto Kuroda; Tsuguto Fujimoto; Genki Ishihara; Ryo Horie; Kosuke Kawamoto; Ken Maeda

doi:10.3390/v15102028

Pet Animals Were Infected with SARS-CoV-2 from Their Owners Who Developed COVID-19: Case Series Study

Viruses. 2023 Sep 29;15(10):2028. doi: 10.3390/v15102028.

Authors

Yudai Kuroda¹, Kei Watanabe², Tsukasa Yamamoto¹, Hiroki Suzuki², Eun-Sil Park¹, Keita Ishijima¹, Kango Tatemoto¹, Milagros Virhuez-Mendoza¹, Yusuke Inoue^{1

3}, Michiko Harada^{1

3}, Ayano Nishino^{1

3}, Tsuyoshi Sekizuka⁴, Makoto Kuroda⁴, Tsuguto Fujimoto⁵, Genki Ishihara², Ryo Horie², Kosuke Kawamoto², Ken Maeda^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Veterinary Science, National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID), Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
² Anicom Specialty Medical Institute Inc., Nishi-shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 160-0023, Japan.
³ Joint Graduate School of Veterinary Medicine, Yamaguchi University, Yoshida, Yamaguchi 753-8515, Japan.
⁴ Pathogen Genomics Center, NIID, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.
⁵ Department of Fungal Infection, NIID, Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan.

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection among pets owned by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients has been reported around the world. However, how often the animals are exposed to SARS-CoV-2 by their owners is still unclear. We have collected swab samples from COVID-19 patients' pets and performed real-time RT-PCR to detect the viral genome. In total, 8 of 53 dogs (15.1%) and 5 of 34 cats (14.7%) tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 N gene. The result of a virus neutralization (VN) test also showed VN antibodies in four cats and six dogs. Our results indicate that the virus often passed from infected owners to their pets, which then excreted the virus despite having no or mild clinical signs.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; cats; dogs.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
COVID-19*
Cat Diseases*
Cats
Dog Diseases*
Dogs
Genome, Viral
Humans
SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
Serologic Tests
Specimen Handling

Grants and funding

This research was funded by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, grant numbers JP21fk0108615 and JP19fk0108097, and by the Health Labour Sciences Research Grant, grant numbers 21HA2006 and 23HA2004.