16 June 2021

SARS‐CoV‐2 B.1.1.7 variant of concern detected in a pet dog and cat after exposure to a person with COVID‐19 USA

spotlight topic:

COVID-19 and animals

Case reports SARS‐CoV‐2 B.1.1.7 variant of concern detected in a pet dog and cat after exposure to a person with COVID‐19, USA Added 16 June 2021 Hamer, S.A. et al (2021) SARS‐CoV‐2 B.1.1.7 variant of concern detected in a pet dog and cat after exposure to a person with COVID‐19, USA. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. https://doi.org/10.1111/tbed.14122 This short communication reports on two pets which were confirmed to be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 variant of concern (VOC). The pets were a dog and a cat from the same household, sampled two days after their owner tested positive for COVID-19. The oral, nasal and fur swabs for both pets tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 by qRT-PCR and consensus whole-genome sequences from the dog and cat were 100% identical and matched the B.1.1.7 VOC. One month after initial detection of infection, the pets were re-tested twice at which time only the fur swabs (both pets) and oral swab (dog only) remained positive, and neutralizing antibodies for SARS-CoV-2 were present in both animals. On initial visit, the animals were asymptomatic. Sneezing, by both pets was noted by the owner in the weeks between initial and follow-up testing. The report highlights that given the continued emergence of new variants of concern which may have enhanced transmissibility and pathogenicity variants of concern from animals should remain the subject of ongoing research.