Serological screening for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Dutch shelter cats
Serological screening for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Dutch shelter cats
Published 27 September 2021
van der Leij, W.J.R. et al (2021) Serological screening for antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in Dutch shelter cats. Viruses, 13 (8), p. 1634. https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081634
This paper reports on the levels of infection with SARS-CoV-2 of cats in animal shelters during the “second wave” of human COVID-19 infections in The Netherlands (August 2020 to February 2021).
Seroprevalence was determined by using an indirect protein-based ELISA validated for cats, and a Virus Neutralization Test (VNT) as confirmation. Two of these cats (0.8%; CI 95%: 0.1–3.0%) were seropositive, as evidenced by the presence of SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies. The seropositive animals tested PCR negative for SARS-CoV-2. Based on the results of this study, it is unlikely that shelter cats act as a reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 or pose a (significant) risk to public health.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!