Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada
SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus that infects humans, wildlife, domesticated and farmed animals. An increase in SARS-CoV-2 variants and human–animal interactions could have implications for the global maintenance and perpetuation of the virus. This study aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection i...
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| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Veterinary Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/5/455 |
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| author | Vanessa Matthew-Belmar Trevor Noel Bhumika Sharma Katherine Yearwood Paul Fields Wayne Sylvester Nandy Noel Elsa Chitan Nikita Cudjoe Veronica Alexander Christopher Oura Calum Macpherson Andy Alhassan |
| author_facet | Vanessa Matthew-Belmar Trevor Noel Bhumika Sharma Katherine Yearwood Paul Fields Wayne Sylvester Nandy Noel Elsa Chitan Nikita Cudjoe Veronica Alexander Christopher Oura Calum Macpherson Andy Alhassan |
| author_sort | Vanessa Matthew-Belmar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus that infects humans, wildlife, domesticated and farmed animals. An increase in SARS-CoV-2 variants and human–animal interactions could have implications for the global maintenance and perpetuation of the virus. This study aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in dogs and cats living in households with and without SARS-CoV-2-positive owners by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in Grenada. This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to April 2022 from dogs (139) and cats (22) in households (96) in Grenada. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were taken from the dogs and cats to detect SARS-CoV-2. qRT-PCR tests were performed targeting the E and RdRP genes, respectively. Notably, 12% (17/139) of dogs and 23% (5/22) of cats tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positive animals were found in 17 (18%) households, all with at least one positive individual. No positive cases of pets were detected in households without infected humans. A statistically significant association (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) was observed between humans with SARS-CoV2 and their pets. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed evidence of a relationship between the Grenadian SARS-CoV-2 E gene and other SARS-CoV-2 E gene sequences available in the NCBI database. This study confirmed the concurrent SARS-CoV-2 human/companion animal infection from households in Grenada. Humans and pet animals were positive synchronously; however, the direction of transmission from pets to humans or vice versa remains unknown. This study suggests that pets could play a role in the maintenance, transmission, and prolongation of infection of human-adapted pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-da9a4c9fde9e422691180ffcd57cfa0b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2306-7381 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Veterinary Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-da9a4c9fde9e422691180ffcd57cfa0b2025-08-20T02:33:51ZengMDPI AGVeterinary Sciences2306-73812025-05-0112545510.3390/vetsci12050455Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from GrenadaVanessa Matthew-Belmar0Trevor Noel1Bhumika Sharma2Katherine Yearwood3Paul Fields4Wayne Sylvester5Nandy Noel6Elsa Chitan7Nikita Cudjoe8Veronica Alexander9Christopher Oura10Calum Macpherson11Andy Alhassan12School of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaSchool of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaSchool of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaSchool of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaSchool of Veterinary Medicine, University of West Indies, EWMSC Mt. Hope, St. Augustine, Trinidad and TobagoWindward Islands Research and Education Foundation, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaSchool of Veterinary Medicine, St. George’s University, True Blue, St. George’s, GrenadaSARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious virus that infects humans, wildlife, domesticated and farmed animals. An increase in SARS-CoV-2 variants and human–animal interactions could have implications for the global maintenance and perpetuation of the virus. This study aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection in dogs and cats living in households with and without SARS-CoV-2-positive owners by real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) in Grenada. This cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to April 2022 from dogs (139) and cats (22) in households (96) in Grenada. Nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs were taken from the dogs and cats to detect SARS-CoV-2. qRT-PCR tests were performed targeting the E and RdRP genes, respectively. Notably, 12% (17/139) of dogs and 23% (5/22) of cats tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. The positive animals were found in 17 (18%) households, all with at least one positive individual. No positive cases of pets were detected in households without infected humans. A statistically significant association (<i>p</i> < 0.0001) was observed between humans with SARS-CoV2 and their pets. Phylogenetic tree analysis showed evidence of a relationship between the Grenadian SARS-CoV-2 E gene and other SARS-CoV-2 E gene sequences available in the NCBI database. This study confirmed the concurrent SARS-CoV-2 human/companion animal infection from households in Grenada. Humans and pet animals were positive synchronously; however, the direction of transmission from pets to humans or vice versa remains unknown. This study suggests that pets could play a role in the maintenance, transmission, and prolongation of infection of human-adapted pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/5/455catsdogsGrenadaSARS-CoV-2 |
| spellingShingle | Vanessa Matthew-Belmar Trevor Noel Bhumika Sharma Katherine Yearwood Paul Fields Wayne Sylvester Nandy Noel Elsa Chitan Nikita Cudjoe Veronica Alexander Christopher Oura Calum Macpherson Andy Alhassan Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada Veterinary Sciences cats dogs Grenada SARS-CoV-2 |
| title | Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada |
| title_full | Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada |
| title_fullStr | Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada |
| title_full_unstemmed | Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada |
| title_short | Molecular Evidence of SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Dogs and Cats from Grenada |
| title_sort | molecular evidence of sars cov 2 virus in dogs and cats from grenada |
| topic | cats dogs Grenada SARS-CoV-2 |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/12/5/455 |
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