Acta Vet. Brno 2026, 95: 259-264
Antibodies against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in dogs and cats
This study examined sera from companion animals in the Czech Republic to look for serological evidence of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and to explore whether infection could relate to respiratory illness in dogs and cats. Between August 2023 and July 2024, specimens were obtained at the Small Animal Clinic of the University of Veterinary Sciences Brno from 283 dogs and 118 cats. Initial screening used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Seropositivity to the nucleocapsid (N) antigen was observed in 6.01% of dogs (17/283) and 6.78% of cats (8/118). Samples classified as positive or doubtful were further analysed by virus neutralization test. Neutralizing antibodies with titres of 1:40, 1:80, and ≥ 1:160 were documented in five dogs and four cats. To date, no studies have addressed this topic in the Czech Republic. True prevalence was calculated with Working in Epidemiology, considering for the lower sensitivity of the selected enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Odds ratios were also computed for antibody occurrence in animals with respiratory signs compared to clinically healthy animals. Diseased animals showed a markedly higher prevalence of antibodies, suggesting a possible link between SARS-CoV-2 infection and respiratory illness. However, the small number of clinically affected animals limits the statistical validity of these findings.
Keywords
ELISA, virus neutralization test, companion animals, SARS-CoV-2.
Funding
This work was supported by funds from Internal Grant Agency of the University of Veterinary Sciences Brno (project No. 110/2024/FVL). JS and PB from the Veterinary Research Institute were supported by project RO0523, funded by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic. We also thank the Small Animal Clinical Laboratory for their cooperation in this research.
