Clinical Infectiology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Section of Virology, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Department of Biomolecular Health Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Yalelaan 1, 3584 CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Viruses. 2023 Jul 12;15(7):1531. doi: 10.3390/v15071531.
Stray cats can host (zoonotic) viral pathogens and act as a source of infection for domestic cats or humans. In this cross-sectional (sero)prevalence study, sera from 580 stray cats living in 56 different cat groups in rural areas in The Netherlands were collected from October 2020 to July 2022. These were used to investigate the prevalence of the cat-specific feline leukemia virus (FeLV, n = 580), the seroprevalence of the cat-specific feline viruses feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV, n = 580) and feline coronavirus (FCoV, n = 407), and the zoonotic virus severe acute respiratory coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2, n = 407) using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs). ELISA-positive results were confirmed using Western blot (FIV) or pseudovirus neutralization test (SARS-CoV-2). The FIV seroprevalence was 5.0% (95% CI (Confidence Interval) 3.4-7.1) and ranged from 0-19.0% among groups. FIV-specific antibodies were more often detected in male cats, cats ≥ 3 years and cats with reported health problems. No FeLV-positive cats were found (95% CI 0.0-0.6). The FCoV seroprevalence was 33.7% (95% CI 29.1-38.5) and ranged from 4.7-85.7% among groups. FCoV-specific antibodies were more often detected in cats ≥ 3 years, cats with reported health problems and cats living in industrial areas or countryside residences compared to cats living at holiday parks or campsites. SARS-CoV-2 antibodies against the subunit 1 (S1) and receptor binding domain (RBD) protein were detected in 2.7% (95% CI 1.4-4.8) of stray cats, but sera were negative in the pseudovirus neutralization test and therefore were considered SARS-CoV-2 suspected. Our findings suggest that rural stray cats in The Netherlands can be a source of FIV and FCoV, indicating a potential risk for transmission to other cats, while the risk for FeLV is low. However, suspected SARS-CoV-2 infections in these cats were uncommon. We found no evidence of SARS-CoV-2 cat-to-cat spread in the studied stray cat groups and consider the likelihood of spillover to humans as low.
流浪猫可能携带（人畜共患）病毒病原体，并成为家猫或人类感染的源头。在这项横断面（血清）流行率研究中，从 2020 年 10 月至 2022 年 7 月，从荷兰农村地区的 56 个不同猫群中采集了 580 只流浪猫的血清。这些血清用于调查猫特有的猫白血病病毒 (FeLV，n=580)、猫特有的猫免疫缺陷病毒 (FIV，n=580) 和猫冠状病毒 (FCoV，n=407) 的流行率，以及人畜共患病毒严重急性呼吸冠状病毒-2 (SARS-CoV-2，n=407)，使用酶联免疫吸附试验 (ELISA)。使用 Western blot (FIV) 或假病毒中和试验 (SARS-CoV-2) 对 ELISA 阳性结果进行确认。FIV 血清阳性率为 5.0%（95%置信区间 [CI] 3.4-7.1），在组间范围为 0-19.0%。在雄性猫、≥3 岁的猫和有报告健康问题的猫中更常检测到 FIV 特异性抗体。未发现 FeLV 阳性猫（95%CI 0.0-0.6）。FCoV 血清阳性率为 33.7%（95%CI 29.1-38.5），在组间范围为 4.7-85.7%。与居住在假日公园或露营地的猫相比，≥3 岁的猫、有报告健康问题的猫和居住在工业区或乡村住宅的猫更常检测到 FCoV 特异性抗体。在 2.7%（95%CI 1.4-4.8）的流浪猫中检测到针对亚单位 1 (S1) 和受体结合域 (RBD) 蛋白的 SARS-CoV-2 抗体，但血清在假病毒中和试验中为阴性，因此被认为是 SARS-CoV-2 疑似感染。我们的研究结果表明，荷兰农村地区的流浪猫可能是 FIV 和 FCoV 的来源，表明它们有向其他猫传播的潜在风险，而 FeLV 的风险较低。然而，这些猫中疑似 SARS-CoV-2 感染并不常见。我们在研究的流浪猫群中未发现 SARS-CoV-2 猫传猫的证据，认为病毒溢出给人类的可能性较低。
