1. The Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 within the Dog Population in Croatia: Host Factors and Clinical Outcome
- Author
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Vilim Starešina, Krešimir Martinković, Valentina Plichta, Lovro Bucić, Irena Tabain, Branimir Škrlin, Josipa Habuš, Iva Šmit, Mirna Brkljačić, Suzana Hadina, Gabrijela Jurkić, Marija Cvetnić, Lada Radin, Matko Perharić, Ivana Ferencak, Vladimir Stevanović, Snjezana Kovac, Maja Maurić Maljković, Zoran Vrbanac, Zinka Stritof, Zeljka Hruskar, Tatjana Vilibić-Čavlek, Gorana Miletic, Iva Benvin, Iva Zečević, and Ljubo Barbić
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,COVID-19 / veterinary ,Croatia / epidemiology ,Male ,COVID-19 / virology ,dogs ,SARS-CoV-2 ,animals ,epidemiology ,risk factors ,clinical picture ,Croatia ,Dog Diseases / virology ,Host factors ,Dog Diseases / epidemiology ,Antibodies, Viral ,Outcome (game theory) ,Communicable Diseases, Emerging ,COVID-19 / epidemiology ,Antibodies, Viral / blood ,0302 clinical medicine ,Seroepidemiologic Studies ,Dog Diseases / blood ,Pandemic ,Epidemiology ,Communicable Diseases, Emerging / veterinary ,Medicine ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Transmission risks and rates ,Dog Diseases ,education.field_of_study ,SARS-CoV-2 / isolation & purification ,QR1-502 ,Communicable Diseases, Emerging / virology ,Infectious Diseases ,Female ,medicine.symptom ,COVID-19 / blood ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) ,Population ,Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay ,Asymptomatic ,Microbiology ,Article ,Communicable Diseases, Emerging / blood ,03 medical and health sciences ,Virology ,Internal medicine ,Seroprevalence ,biochemistry ,Humans ,education ,Pandemics ,Retrospective Studies ,Communicable Diseases, Emerging / epidemiology ,business.industry ,Dog health ,COVID-19 ,Retrospective cohort study ,030104 developmental biology ,Immunology ,Dog Diseases / diagnosis ,business ,SARS-CoV-2 / immunology - Abstract
Over a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, there is growing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infections among dogs are more common than previously thought. In this study, the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was investigated in two dog populations. The first group was comprised of 1069 dogs admitted to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital for any given reason. The second group included dogs that shared households with confirmed COVID-19 cases in humans. This study group numbered 78 dogs. In COVID-19 infected households, 43.9% tested ELISA positive, and neutralising antibodies were detected in 25.64% of dogs. Those data are comparable with the secondary attack rate in the human population. With 14.69% of dogs in the general population testing ELISA positive, there was a surge of SARS-CoV-2 infections within the dog population amid the second wave of the pandemic. Noticeably seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the dog and the human population did not differ at the end of the study period. Male sex, breed and age were identified as significant risk factors. This study gives strong evidence that while acute dog infections are mostly asymptomatic, they can pose a significant risk to dog health. Due to the retrospective nature of this study, samples for viral isolation and PCR were unavailable. Still, seropositive dogs had a 1.97 times greater risk for developing central nervous symptoms.
- Published
- 2021