Estudo sorológico de SARS-CoV-2 em cães, gatos e animais silvestres

Abstract

In December 2019, an epidemiological process started that would have catastrophic consequences for the world. A virus already known to the scientific community crossed interspecies barriers again and adapted to a new host: humans. In January 2020, the WHO declared that a new virus had emerged in China. According to information, the common point was more precisely a fish market in Wuhan where several species of animals were traded. Soon the new virus, called SARS-CoV-2, spread throughout the world due to the movement of people. Natural and experimental infections in animals have started to be reported. Our work sought to understand the prevalence of natural infections in dogs, cats and wild animals in a region with 115.853 human cases were confirmed in a total population of 612.547 and with a mortality rate of 5,8. A total of 762 dogs, 182 cats and 36 wild animals were tested for SARS-CoV-2 using ELISA and serum neutralization tests. In dogs, we obtained 33 positive results in the ELISA test and three in serum neutralization. In felines, 4 were positive in the ELISA and 3 in the serum neutralization. In wild animals, all were negative in both tests. Based on the data, we conclude that dogs and cats have low seroprevalence in a city highly affected by Covid-19. Further seroprevalence studies in wild animals are needed to understand its real importance. Although the ELISA based on the N nucleocapsid protein is a good screening test, cross reactions with other canine coronaviruses may be present because it is a highly conserved protein among coronaviruses. Serum neutralization proved to be efficient in finding neutralizing antibodies.