18 May 2020
Researchers administered to three cats SARS-CoV-2 isolated from a human patient and were later able to detect the virus in two of the animals’ nasal passages.
David Woodmansey
Job Title
Scientists in the US and Japan have reported that in the laboratory cats can readily become infected with SARS-CoV-2 – the virus that causes COVID-19 – and may be able to pass the virus to other cats.
The work was published on 13 May in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Professor of pathobiological sciences at the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, led the study, in which researchers administered to three cats SARS-CoV-2 isolated from a human patient.
The following day, the researchers swabbed the nasal passages of the cats and were able to detect the virus in two of the animals. Within three days, they detected the virus in all of the cats.
The day after the researchers administered virus to the first three cats, they placed another cat in each of their cages. Researchers did not administer SARS-CoV-2 virus to these cats.
Each day, the researchers took nasal and rectal swabs from all six cats to assess them for the presence of the virus. Within two days, one of the previously uninfected cats was shedding virus, detected in the nasal swab, and, within six days, all of the cats were shedding virus. None of the rectal swabs contained virus.
Each cat shed SARS-CoV-2 from its nasal passages for up to six days. The virus was not lethal and none of the cats showed signs of illness. All of the cats ultimately cleared the virus.
Prof Kawaoka, who also holds a faculty appointment at The University of Tokyo, said: “That was a major finding for us – the cats did not have symptoms.”
Prof Kawaoka is also helping lead an effort to create a human COVID-19 vaccine called CoroFlu.
The findings suggested cats may be capable of becoming infected with the virus when exposed to people or other cats positive for SARS-CoV-2. It follows a study published in Science by scientists at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences that also showed cats (and ferrets) could become infected with – and potentially transmit – the virus.
The virus is known to be transmitted in humans through contact with respiratory droplets and saliva.
