Can your pets get infected with the coronavirus?

A small study published 8 April 2020 in Science by researchers in China found that cats are highly susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 and can pass the virus on to other cats via airborne transmission. However, dogs showed low susceptibility, and livestock including pigs, chickens, and ducks were not susceptible to the virus.
They did not study specifically whether cats can pass the virus to humans, although this seems likely as cats can pass the virus to other cats via airborne transmission.
From their findings, the researchers suggest that surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in cats should be considered as an adjunct to elimination of COVID-19 in humans.>/p>
Two viruses – SARS-CoV 2/F13/environment/2020/Wuhan, isolated from an environmental sample collected in the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan (F13-E), and SARS-CoV-2/CTan/human/2020/Wuhan (CTan-H), isolated from a human patient – were used in the study.
The researchers first investigated the replication of SARS-CoV-2 in cats. Seven subadult cats (aged 6-9 months) were intranasally inoculated with 105 PFU of CTan-H. Two animals were scheduled to be euthanized on days 3 post infection (p.i.) and 6 p.i., respectively, to evaluate viral replication in their organs. Three subadult cats were placed in separate cages within an isolator. To monitor respiratory droplet transmission, an uninfected cat was placed in a cage adjacent to each of the infected cats.
In the transmission study, viral RNA was detected in the faeces of two virus-inoculated subadult cats on day 3 p.i., and in all three virus-inoculated subadult cats on day 5 p.i. Viral RNA was detected in the faeces of one exposed cat on day 3 p.i. The pair of subadult cats with viral RNA-positive faeces were euthanized on day 11 p.i., and viral RNA was detected in the soft palate and tonsils of the virus-inoculated animal and in the nasal turbinate, soft palate, tonsils, and trachea of the exposed animal indicating that respiratory droplet transmission had occurred in this pair of cats. Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 were detected in all three virus-inoculated subadult cats and one exposed cat.
They replicated the study in juvenile cats and found “massive lesions in the nasal and tracheal mucosa epitheliums, and lungs”, indicating that SARS-CoV-2 can replicate efficiently in cats, with younger cats being more permissive.
Additionally, and importantly, the study showed that the virus can transmit between cats via the airborne route.
For the study in dogs, five 3-month-old beagles were intranasally inoculated with 105 PFU of CTan-H, and housed with two uninoculated beagles in a room. Oropharyngeal and rectal swabs from each beagle were collected over a series of days.
Viral RNA was detected in the rectal swabs of two virus-inoculated dogs on day 2 p.i and in the rectal swab of one dog on day 6 p.i. However, they note that “infectious virus was not detected in any swabs collected from these dogs”.
Two virus-inoculated dogs showed antibodies. The other two virus-inoculated dogs and the two contact dogs were all seronegative for SARS-CoV-2.
The dog study was repeated in pigs, chickens and ducks and viral RNA was not detected in any swabs collected from these animals or from naïve contact animals. All were seronegative for SARS-CoV-2.
doi: 10.1126/science.abb7015