Low SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and No Active Infections among Dogs and Cats in Animal Shelters with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Human Cases among Employees

Caitlin M Cossaboom; Alexandra M Medley; Jessica R Spengler; Esther A Kukielka; Grace W Goryoka; Tiffany Baird; Swity Bhavsar; Stefanie Campbell; Thomas S Campbell; Daniel Christensen; Jillian A Condrey; Patrick Dawson; Jeffrey B Doty; Amanda Feldpausch; Julie Gabel; Dee Jones; Ailam Lim; Christina M Loiacono; Melinda Jenkins-Moore; Andrea Moore; Clarissa Noureddine; Jorge Ortega; Keith Poulsen; Jane A Rooney; John Rossow; Karen Sheppard; Emma Sweet; Robyn Stoddard; Rachel M Tell; Ryan M Wallace; Carl Williams; Casey Barton Behravesh

doi:10.3390/biology10090898

Low SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and No Active Infections among Dogs and Cats in Animal Shelters with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Human Cases among Employees

Biology (Basel). 2021 Sep 11;10(9):898. doi: 10.3390/biology10090898.

Authors

Caitlin M Cossaboom¹, Alexandra M Medley¹, Jessica R Spengler¹, Esther A Kukielka^{1

2}, Grace W Goryoka¹, Tiffany Baird³, Swity Bhavsar⁴, Stefanie Campbell¹, Thomas S Campbell³, Daniel Christensen⁵, Jillian A Condrey¹, Patrick Dawson¹, Jeffrey B Doty¹, Amanda Feldpausch³, Julie Gabel³, Dee Jones⁶, Ailam Lim⁵, Christina M Loiacono⁷, Melinda Jenkins-Moore⁷, Andrea Moore¹, Clarissa Noureddine⁴, Jorge Ortega⁴, Keith Poulsen⁵, Jane A Rooney⁸, John Rossow¹, Karen Sheppard⁹, Emma Sweet⁵, Robyn Stoddard¹, Rachel M Tell⁷, Ryan M Wallace¹, Carl Williams¹⁰, Casey Barton Behravesh¹

Affiliations

¹ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
² Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA.
³ Georgia Department of Public Health, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA.
⁴ Guilford County Animal Services, Greensboro, NC 27409, USA.
⁵ Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, Madison, WI 53706, USA.
⁶ Alabama Department of Public Health, Montgomery, AL 36104, USA.
⁷ United States Department of Agriculture, National Veterinary Services Laboratory, Ames, IA 50010, USA.
⁸ United States Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, CO 80526, USA.
⁹ Huntsville Animal Services, Huntsville, AL 35805, USA.
¹⁰ North Carolina Division of Public Health, Raleigh, NC 27699, USA.

Abstract

Human-to-animal and animal-to-animal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been documented; however, investigations into SARS-CoV-2 transmission in congregate animal settings are lacking. We investigated four animal shelters in the United States that had identified animals with exposure to shelter employees with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Of the 96 cats and dogs with specimens collected, only one dog had detectable SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies; no animal specimens had detectable viral RNA. These data indicate a low probability of human-to-animal transmission events in cats and dogs in shelter settings with early implementation of infection prevention interventions.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; animal shelter; coronavirus; human-to-animal; zoonosis.