However, the virus may have emerged in the human population by way of a yet unidentified intermediate host. Phylogenetic studies that reconstruct the evolutionary relationships between SARS-CoV-2 and its closest relatives suggest the reservoir of SARS-CoV-2 was an animal host, likely horseshoe bats ( Rhinolophus spp.). The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an unprecedented challenge to health, the economy, and nearly all aspects of society. ‘Reverse zoonotic’ transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from infected people to animals may occur more frequently than recognized. The majority (82.4%) of infected pets were asymptomatic.
Additionally, seven out of sixteen (43.8%) cats and seven out of fifty-nine (11.9%) dogs harbored SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies upon initial sampling, with relatively stable or increasing titers over the 2–3 months of follow-up and no evidence of seroreversion. Re-sampling showed persistence of viral RNA for at least 25 d-post initial test. Whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 obtained from all four PCR-positive animals were unique variants grouping with genomes circulating among people with COVID-19 in Texas. This includes three out of seventeen (17.6%) cats and one out of fifty-nine (1.7%) dogs that were positive by RT-PCR and sequencing, with the virus successfully isolated from the respiratory swabs of one cat and one dog. We conducted a longitudinal household transmission study of 76 dogs and cats living with at least one SARS-CoV-2-infected human in Texas and found that 17 pets from 25.6% of 39 households met the national case definition for SARS-CoV-2 infections in animals. Understanding the ecological and epidemiological roles of pets in the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is critical for animal and human health, identifying household reservoirs, and predicting the potential enzootic maintenance of the virus.
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