The immune response by cats revealed they may be ‘a good model for vaccine development’
By Sally Guyoncourt
September 29, 2020
Researchers claim cats immune response to the virus SARS-CoV-2 may help with vaccine development (Photo: Ian Forsyth/Getty)
Cats and dogs infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 showed no signs of developing disease, offering hope for vaccine development, researchers have revealed.
A study at Colorado State University in the United States looked at the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on seven domestic cats and three dogs.
The virus can lead to the disease Covid-19 in humans but in this study none of the animals developed a clinical disease.
Cats and dogs infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 showed no signs of developing disease, offering hope for vaccine development, researchers have revealed.
A study at Colorado State University in the United States looked at the effects of SARS-CoV-2 on seven domestic cats and three dogs.
The virus can lead to the disease Covid-19 in humans but in this study none of the animals developed a clinical disease.
The report’s authors stated: “These studies have important implications for animal health and suggest that cats may be a good model for vaccine development.”
Hope for vaccine development
According to researchers, there have been several previous cases of pets becoming infected by SARS-CoV-2 following exposure to infected humans in New York, Hong Kong, Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, and Russia.
And in several of these cases, including non-domestic cats at the Bronx Zoo and pet cats in New York and Europe, animals displayed signs of respiratory disease and/or conjunctivitis.
However, in this study the cats and dogs were observed twice daily for the first seven days and then at least once a day for the duration of the study and displayed no signs of disease at any point.
The findings, published in the journal PNAS, showed the dogs did not shed the virus once infected and have an antibody response.
While the infected cats shed infectious virus both orally and nasally for five days after infection.
But when the infected cats were re-exposed to the virus at a later date they had an effective immune response and could not be re-infected.
Researchers concluded: “Cats develop significant neutralizing antibody titers and are resistant to reinfection, although the duration of immunity is not currently known.
“This could prove a useful measurement for subsequent vaccine trials for both human and animal vaccine candidates.”
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