First case of SARS-CoV-2 detected in a cat in France

The joint virology research unit run by the Alfort National Veterinary School, the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) and INRAE, in association with the Institut Pasteur, has detected the first case of a cat carrying SARS-CoV-2 in France. As with previously identified cases elsewhere in the world, the cat was living with a person with COVID-19.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was reported for the first time in Wuhan, China, and rapidly spread throughout the world. Previous studies have suggested that cats could be a species susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, although just four cases of natural infection in cats have been reported to date worldwide.

The joint EnvA-ANSES-INRAE virology unit studied presumed infection with SARS-CoV-2 in the cats of owners with suspected COVID-19 infection. For each cat, rectal and nasopharyngeal (nose and pharynx) swabs were taken. They were tested using a qRT-PCR test targeting two SARS-CoV-2 genes. This study was made possible by the participation of veterinary practitioners from the Greater Paris region and professional networks.
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