Serologic Screening of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection in Cats and Dogs during First Coronavirus Disease Wave, the Netherlands

• DOI: 10.3201/eid2705.204055
• Publication Date: 2021-03-29T10:16:12Z
• Authors: Shan Zhao; Nancy Schuurman; Wentao Li; Chunyan Wang; Lidwien A.M. Smit; Els M. Broens; Jaap A. Wagenaar; Frank J.M. van Ku...; Berend-Jan Bosch; Herman Egberink
• Keywords: Coronavirus; Betacoronavirus; 2019-20 coronavirus outbreak; Pandemic

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) can infect many animal species, including minks, cats, and dogs. To gain insights into SARS-CoV-2 infections in cats dogs, we developed validated a set of serologic assays, ELISA virus neutralization. Evaluation samples from animals before they acquired disease roaming SARS-CoV-2-positive mink farms confirmed the suitability these assays for specific antibody detection. Furthermore, our findings exclude nucleocapsid protein as an antigen screening cat dog samples. We analyzed 500 serum domestic dogs Netherlands during April-May 2020. showed 0.4% 0.2% were seropositive. Although seroprevalence that had unknown exposure was low first wave, data stress need development continuous serosurveillance species.