Studies examining SARS-CoV-2 transmission from humans to pets

The original publisher of this article is Infection control today.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists believe it is likely that SARS-CoV-2 was transmitted from mammals to humans. However, it is still unclear how the frequency of human-animal interactions affects transmission. But what about humans and pets? Should they worry? Can the virus be transmitted from cats, dogs, hamsters, and other pets to human owners?

Results of a cross-sectional One Health study on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from pets to humans were recently published. emerging infectious disease journal. The study also describes types of human-animal contact and risk factors for household transmission.

Investigators in the study found that 110 domestic cats and 95 domestic dogs in the United States were tested positive for SARS-CoV-1 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, even though the virus is currently spreading from person to person. I wrote that I was reported to have 2. Infection status as of October 17, 2022.

The authors said, “The results indicate that human-to-animal household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a frequent occurrence, and that infected animals commonly show signs of illness. Furthermore, we show that close human-animal contact is common between humans and their pets in this study population, and that this contact appears to enable SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Pet owners should be familiar with and willing to adopt measures to protect their pets from COVID-19.”

This study was conducted as a community-based study of household pets with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans. Two of her study personnel, including at least one of her veterinarians, performed sampling at participants’ homes or local animal hospitals. Testers did not use muzzles, nor did they use chemical restraints due to biosafety concerns.

Clinical signs consistent with SARS-CoV-2 were reported in 20 dogs (21%) and 19 cats (39%) among 119 dogs and 57 cats. Of the 81 dogs and 32 cats sampled, investigators found that 40% of dogs and 43% of cats were seropositive, and 5% of dogs and 8% of cats were seropositive. PCR) was positive. The authors said sampling delays could cause this discrepancy. However, the reported preventive measures showed a slightly protective but insignificant move against both pet illness and seropositivity. In particular, “bed and bowl sharing had a modest detrimental effect, reaching statistical significance for bowl sharing and seropositivity,” the authors note.

“Our study adds useful new findings to the literature on cross-species transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and is related to other zoonotic diseases transmitted in households,” the authors said in the study. writing. “In particular, our findings encourage households in this population to take measures to protect their pets from SARS-CoV-2 infection, and that these measures may be effective. and points to an opportunity to prevent zoonotic infections in households through health education and policies.”

Veterinarian Julianne Meisner, PhD, MS, BVM&S, Assistant Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, and lead author of the study, wrote with her colleagues: – CoV-2 as an animal council [greater or equal to] One of the following criteria: SARS CoV-2 RBD ELISA seropositive status, PCR-positive status, or illness consistent with SARS-CoV-2 infection (hereafter referred to as illness) is included in the survey question “Diagnosis of COVID”. /Did this animal have any new problems such as dyspnea, coughing, or decreased interest in playing, walking, or eating around the time of onset of symptoms in the home?” Parameterized serum status as an ELISA ratio. were normalized, log-transformed for interpretability, and PCR-positive status and disease were parameterized as binary variables. “

The authors of the study concluded that close contact between humans and animals is common between individuals and pets in this population, and that this contact appears to support SARS-CoV-2 transmission. is shown. Fortunately, the pet owners in this study were aware of and willing to adopt measures to protect themselves and their pets from COVID-19. The prevalence of virus-positive animals was greater than 90% for multi-pet households with one or more positive pets. Meisner et al. noted that their results were “compared to the Canadian results (positive effect on cat bed-sharing; 41% of dogs and 52% of cats were seropositive, although few PCR-positive pets)” and the Texas We point to broad agreement with state and Arizona studies: interspecies transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is common.”

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reference

Meisner J, Baszler TV, Kuehl KE, et al. Household transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from humans to pets, Washington and Idaho, USA. emerging infectious disease2022;28(12):2425-2434. doi:10.3201/eid2812.220215.