Jimenez-Bluhm Pedro, Sepulveda Alejandra, Baumberger Cecilia, Di Pillo Francisca, Ruiz Soledad, Salazar Carla, Marambio Victor, Berrios Fernanda, Galdames Pablo, Amaro Alicia, Tapia David, Sharp Bridgett, Freiden Pamela, Meliopoulos Victoria, Schultz-Cherry Stacey, Hamilton-West Christopher
Department of Preventive Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Núcleo de Investigaciones Aplicadas en Ciencias Veterinarias y Agronómicas, Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria y Agronomía, Universidad de Las Américas, Santiago, Chile.
Prev Vet Med. 2021 Apr 16;191:105349. doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2021.105349.
As companion animals, dogs and cats live in close contact with humans, generating the possibility of interspecies pathogen transmission events. Equine origin H3N8 and avian origin H5N1 influenza virus have been reported in dogs and cats respectively since 2004 with outbreaks associated with different strains recorded for both species in Asia and North America. To date, there have been no reports of influenza viruses from companion animals in South America. To fill this gap in knowledge, we performed active epidemiological surveillance in shelters that received abandoned animals, backyard production systems and veterinary clinics between May 2017 and January 2019 to estimate the burden of influenza infection in cats and dogs in the central region of Chile. Blood samples, oropharyngeal swabs or both were collected for influenza A virus detection by RT-qPCR, NP-ELISA, and hemagglutination inhibition assay. Logistic regression models were performed to assess the association between NP-ELISA-positivity and variables including sex and animal origin. The percentage of ELISA-positive samples was 43.5 % (95 % CI: 37.0-50.1) and 23.3 % (95 % CI: 10.6-42.7) for dogs and cats, respectively. No association was found between NP-ELISA results and sex or animal origin for either dogs or cats. Two ELISA positive samples showed hemagglutination inhibition titers against pandemic H1N1 influenza. One dog sample tested positive by RT-qPCR, indicating an overall RT-qPCR positivity in dogs of 1.1 % (95 % CI: 0.05-6.7). None of the tested cat samples were positive by this assay.
作为伴侣动物，狗和猫与人类密切接触，从而产生了种间病原体传播事件的可能性。自2004年以来，分别在狗和猫中报告了马源H3N8和禽源H5N1流感病毒，在亚洲和北美均记录到这两个物种与不同毒株相关的疫情。迄今为止，南美洲尚未有关于伴侣动物流感病毒的报告。为了填补这一知识空白，我们于2017年5月至2019年1月期间，在接收弃养动物的收容所、后院养殖系统和兽医诊所开展了主动流行病学监测，以估算智利中部地区猫和狗的流感感染负担。采集血样、口咽拭子或两者，通过逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）、核蛋白酶联免疫吸附测定（NP-ELISA）和血凝抑制试验检测甲型流感病毒。采用逻辑回归模型评估NP-ELISA阳性与包括性别和动物来源在内的变量之间的关联。狗和猫的ELISA阳性样本百分比分别为43.5%（95%置信区间：37.0 - 50.1）和23.3%（95%置信区间：10.6 - 42.7）。对于狗和猫，均未发现NP-ELISA结果与性别或动物来源之间存在关联。两份ELISA阳性样本显示出针对大流行H1N1流感的血凝抑制效价。一份狗样本通过RT-qPCR检测呈阳性，表明狗的总体RT-qPCR阳性率为1.1%（95%置信区间：0.05 - 6.7）。通过该检测方法，所检测的猫样本均未呈阳性。
