The Omicron (B.1.1.529) SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern also affects companion animals

  1. Lidia Sánchez-Morales
  2. José M. Sánchez-Vizcaíno
  3. Marta Pérez-Sancho
  4. Lucas Domínguez
  5. Sandra Barroso-Arévalo

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Abstract

The recent emergence of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has brought with it a large increase in the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 disease worldwide. However, there is hardly any data on the incidence of this new variant in companion animals. In this study, we have detected the presence of this new variant in domestic animals such as dogs and cats living with owners with COVID19 in Spain that have been sampled at the most optimal time for the detection of the disease. None of the RT-qPCR positive animals (10.13%) presented any clinical signs and the viral loads detected were very low. In addition, the shedding of viral RNA lasted a short period of time in the positive animals. Infection with the Omicron variant of concern (VOC) was confirmed by a specific RT-qPCR for the detection of this variant and by sequencing. These outcomes suggest a lower virulence of this variant in infected cats and dogs. This study demonstrates the transmission of this new variant from infected humans to domestic animals and highlights the importance of doing active surveillance as well as genomic research to detect the presence of VOCs or mutations associated with animal hosts.

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  1. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2022.04.13.488132: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    EthicsIACUC: The samples were taken using protocols approved by the Complutense University of Madrid’s Ethics Committee for Animal Experiments (Project License 14/2020).
    Field Sample Permit: In addition, a survey of the owners was carried out in order to know the potential symptoms they were presenting to confirm Omicron variant associated signs, as well as a nasal swab sample collection in some cases to confirm the SARS-CoV-2 variant involved in the infection by RT-qPCR and sequencing.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Cell Line Authenticationnot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Experimental Models: Cell Lines
    SentencesResources
    At 1-hour post-incubation, 200 μL of Vero E6 cell suspension were added to the virus-serum mixtures, and the plates were incubated at 37°C with 5% CO2.
    Vero E6
    suggested: None
    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    Phylogenetic analysis was performed using MEGA X software (Tamura, 1992).
    MEGA X
    suggested: None

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: An explicit section about the limitations of the techniques employed in this study was not found. We encourage authors to address study limitations.

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  2. Version published to 10.1101/2022.04.13.488132v1 on bioRxiv