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. 2024 Jul;17(7):1611-1618.
doi: 10.14202/vetworld.2024.1611-1618. Epub 2024 Jul 26.

Rapid antigen detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 in stray cats: A cross-sectional study

Ronaldy Santana Santos  1 , Daniel Antônio Braga Lee  2 , Marina Dos Santos Barreto  1 , Eloia Emanuelly Dias Silva  1 , Pamela Chaves de Jesus  1 , Pedro Henrique Macedo Moura  1 , Deise Maria Rego Rodrigues Silva  1 , Jessiane Bispo de Souza  1 , Taynar Lima Bezerra  2 , Patricia Oliveira Meira Santos  2 , Adriana Gibara Guimarães  1 , Lucas Alves da Mota Santana  3 , Carlos Roberto Prudencio  4   5 , Lysandro Pinto Borges  1   6
Affiliations

Rapid antigen detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 in stray cats: A cross-sectional study

Ronaldy Santana Santos et al. Vet World. 2024 Jul.

Abstract

Background and aim: Although reverse zoonotic transmission events from humans to domestic cats have been described, there is currently little evidence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) circulation in stray cats. Due to the evidence of natural and experimental infections in cats and the capacity to disseminate the virus among them, this study aimed to identify the SARS-CoV-2 antigen in stray cats from the Federal University of Sergipe in Brazil.

Materials and methods: One hundred twenty six stray cats from the university were screened for SARS-CoV-2 antigens by random sampling. Throat swab samples were tested for the virus using rapid antigen detection tests.

Results: Of the 126 animals tested, 30 (23.60%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2 antigens. To our knowledge, for the first time, this study detected the SARS-CoV-2 antigen in stray cats and confirmed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infections in Brazil's stray cat population.

Conclusion: The detection of SARS-CoV-2 in stray cats poses a risk for infected and healthy animals and possibly for humans who attend the university daily. As a limitation of the study, the small sample size necessitates caution when interpreting the results. This underscores the need for further research in this area to help control diseases in stray animals during potential pandemics. This highlights the need for monitoring and controlling the spread of the virus in stray animal populations.

Keywords: animals; antigen; cats; severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure-1
Figure-1
Graphical representation of the clinical conditions and quantitative results of the animals studied. The graph contains the quantitative results of the infected cats (P=Positive and N=Negative). F (P = 19; N = 59) and M (P = 11; N = 37) represent female and male sex, respectively (D=Docile; P = 25; N = 76), (U=Unsociable; P = 3; N = 18), and (I=Indifferent; P = 2; N = 2) represent feline behavior, only participants who knew the brands of vaccines they had taken. (PY=Confirmed pregnancy; P = 4; N = 1) and (PN=No pregnancy; P = 26; N = 95) represent pregnant or not pregnant females. Regarding the cats that had nasal discharge, we represented NDY (P = 1; N = 25) as cats with nasal discharge and NDN (P = 29; N=71) as cats without nasal discharge. For cats that presented with cough/sneeze, we represented them as C-SY (P = 1; N = 4) and those without Cough/Sneeze as C-SN (P = 29; N = 92). In addition, we assessed dyspnea, considering DY (P = 2; N = 5) as the cats that had dyspnea and DN (P = 28; N = 91) that did not.
Figure-2
Figure-2
Overview of the methodology and results obtained with stray cats by the Federal University of Sergipe.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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