Retrospective surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in pets from Brazil

Vet World Vol.14 October-2021 Article-31

Research Article

Veterinary World, 14(10): 2803-2808

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2021.2803-2808

Otávio Valério de Carvalho¹, Luiz Eduardo Ristow¹, Davi dos Santos Rodrigues², Cláudia Kathariny da Silva Farias², and Rita de Cássia Carvalho Maia²

1. TECSA Laboratories, Av. do Contorno, 6226 - Funcionários, Belo Horizonte - MG, 30110-042, Brazil.
2. Department of Veterinary Medicine, LAVIAN, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco, Dom Manoel de Medeiros Street, S/N, Recife-PE, 52171-900, Brazil.

Background and Aim: The emerging concerns regarding the new Coronavirus's ability to cause infection in pets has led to animal testing and worrisome findings reported all over the world in domesticated and wild animals. This study aimed to investigate severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV)-2 by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction in dog and cat samples with the clinical presentation for respiratory or gastrointestinal disease in Brazil.

Materials and Methods: One hundred and twenty-five samples were collected from 12 states of Brazil that originated from the gastrointestinal, upper respiratory tract, and other sites, including some pools of samples from before the onset of the pandemic including blood and/or urine samples. They were tested for RT-PCR detection of respiratory or gastrointestinal pathogens through Respiratory or Diarrhea RT-PCR Panels in the TECSA (Tecnologia em Saninade Animal - Animal Health Technology) Veterinary Medicine Laboratory. This work was conducted in compliance with ethical standards.

Results: Seven different microorganisms that can cause respiratory and/or gastrointestinal clinical signs were detected in cats (Feline Coronavirus [FCoV], Feline Parvovirus, Feline Leukemia Virus, Feline Calicivirus, Mycoplasma felis, Campylobacter spp., and Cryptosporidium spp.) and three in dogs (canine distemper virus, Cryptosporidium spp., and Babesia spp.).

Conclusion: Although the samples corresponded to the beginning of coronavirus disease-19 spread in Brazil and clinically correlated with the expected viral replication sites, none of the animals tested positive for SARS-CoV-2; reassuringly, four cats tested positive or FCoV none of them were positive for SARS-CoV2. The epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in pets is considered a one health issue, important for monitoring the disease evolution, spread and minimizing the animal-human health impacts, and directing Public Health Policies. Keywords: companion animals, coronavirus disease-19, vigilance, virus.

Keywords: companion animals, coronavirus disease-19, vigilance, virus.

How to cite this article: de Carvalho OV, Ristow LE, Rodrigues DS, Farias CKS, Maia RCC (2021) Retrospective surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in pets from Brazil, Veterinary World, 14(10): 2803-2808.

Received: 15-06-2021 Accepted: 06-10-2021 Published online: 28-10-2021

Corresponding author: Rita de Cássia Carvalho Maia E-mail: rita.carvalho@ufrpe.br

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2021.2803-2808

Copyright: de Carvalho, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.