scholarly journals Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Cat with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (8) ◽  
pp. 1510
Author(s):  
Francisco R. Carvallo ◽  
Mathias Martins ◽  
Lok R. Joshi ◽  
Leonardo C. Caserta ◽  
Patrick K. Mitchell ◽  
...  

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), has claimed millions of human lives worldwide since the emergence of the zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China in December 2019. Notably, most severe and fatal SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans have been associated with underlying clinical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases. Here, we describe a case of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in a domestic cat (Felis catus) that presented with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a chronic heart condition that has been described as a comorbidity of COVID-19 in humans and that is prevalent in domestic cats. The lung and heart of the affected cat presented clear evidence of SARS-CoV-2 replication, with histological lesions similar to those observed in humans with COVID-19 with high infectious viral loads being recovered from these organs. The study highlights the potential impact of comorbidities on the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals and provides important information that may contribute to the development of a feline model with the potential to recapitulate the clinical outcomes of severe COVID-19 in humans.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco R. Carvallo ◽  
Mathias Martins ◽  
Lok R. Joshi ◽  
Leonardo C. Caserta ◽  
Patrick K. Mitchell ◽  
...  

Abstract Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), has claimed millions of human lives worldwide since the emergence of the zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China in December 2019. Notably, most severe and fatal SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans have been associated with underlying clinical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension, and heart diseases. Here we describe a case of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in a domestic cat (Felis catus) that presented with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a chronic heart condition that has been described as a comorbidity of COVID-19 in humans and that is prevalent in domestic cats. The lung and heart of the affected cat presented clear evidence of SARS-CoV-2 replication, with histological lesions similar to those observed in humans with COVID-19 with high infectious viral loads being recovered from these organs. The study highlights the potential impact of comorbidities on the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals and provides important information that may contribute to the development of a feline model with the potential to recapitulate the clinical outcomes of severe COVID-19 in humans.


Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Keane ◽  
Phillip J. Long ◽  
Yasmeen Fleifil ◽  
Nancy G. Solomon

AbstractBehavioral changes that reduce the risk of predation in response to predator-derived odor cues are widespread among mammalian taxa and have received a great deal of attention. Although voles of the genus Microtus are staples in the diet of many mammalian predators, including domestic cats (Felis catus), there are no previous studies on vole space utilization and activity levels in response to odor cues from domestic cats. Therefore, the objective of our study was to investigate responses of adult prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) living in semi-natural habitats to odor cues from domestic cat excreta. Contrary to expectations, neither adult males or females showed significant changes in space use or willingness to enter traps in response to cat odors. One hypothesis to explain our results are that prairie voles have not co-evolved with domestic cats long enough to respond to their odors. Other possible explanations include whether levels of odors in the environment were sufficient to trigger a response or that the perceived risk of predation from odor cues alone did not outweigh relative costs of changing space use and activity levels. Future studies should consider multiple factors when determining what cues are sufficient to elicit antipredatory behavior.


Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1195
Author(s):  
Natasha Barrios ◽  
Marcelo Gómez ◽  
Macarena Zanelli ◽  
Lisbeth Rojas-Barón ◽  
Paulina Sepúlveda-García ◽  
...  

Gurltia paralysans and Aelurostrongylus abstrusus are neglected metastrongyloid nematode species which infect domestic and wild cats in South American countries and in Chile, but no epidemiological studies on concomitant infections have been conducted in Chile so far. The aim of this study was not only to evaluate the occurrence of concomitant infections, but also to identify epidemiological risk factors associated with of G. paralysans and A. abstrusus infections in urban domestic cats (Felis catus) from Southern Chile. Blood samples from clinically healthy domestic cats from three cities of Southern Chile—Temuco, Valdivia, and Puerto Montt—were analyzed by an experimental semi-nested PCR protocol. A total of 171 apparently healthy domestic cats in Temuco (n = 68), Valdivia (n = 50), and Puerto Montt (n = 53) were sampled and analyzed. A total of 93 domestic cats (54.4%) were positive for G. paralysans, and 34 (19.9%) were positive for A. abstrusus infections. From those animals, 34 (19.9%) were co-infected. Cats positive with G. paralysans were found in all three cities; 47.2% in Puerto Montt, 48% in Valdivia, and 64.7% in Temuco. Levels of infection for A. abstrusus in the population under study were 4% (Valdivia), 10% (Puerto Montt), and 32.4% (Temuco). The present large-scale epidemiological study confirmed the presence of these neglected nematodes in domestic cat populations in Southern Chile, and described the possible risk factors associated with feline gurltiosis and aelurostrongylosis.


Viruses ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1009
Author(s):  
Anna Michelitsch ◽  
Jacob Schön ◽  
Donata Hoffmann ◽  
Martin Beer ◽  
Kerstin Wernike

Registered cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections in the German human population increased rapidly during the second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in winter 2020/21. Since domestic cats are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2, the occurrence of trans-species transmission needs to be monitored. A previous serosurvey during the first wave of the pandemic detected antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in 0.65% of feline serum samples that were randomly sampled across Germany. In the here-presented follow-up study that was conducted from September 2020 to February 2021, the seroprevalence rose to 1.36% (16/1173). This doubling of the seroprevalence in cats is in line with the rise of reported cases in the human population and indicates a continuous occurrence of trans-species transmission from infected owners to their cats.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 289-306
Author(s):  
Frederick A. Belton ◽  
Robert W. Schmieder

This paper presents the first comprehensive history of Felis catus, the domestic cat, on Pitcairn Island. It includes detailed documentation of the cats and their status on the island, from settlement by H.M.A.V. Bounty mutineers in 1790 through the present time. The domestic cats of Pitcairn Island are worthy of study because they are inextricably linked to the island’s natural, cultural and maritime history. We present evidence that indicates domestic cats were introduced to Pitcairn Island by the Bounty mutineers in 1790. The cats have experienced cyclic periods of alternately being protected and culled due to variations in prey availability. There were at least two instances (c.1820 and in 1997) of nearly complete cat eradication. Some Pitcairn Islanders believe that ‘Bounty Cats’, which were descended from the cats that arrived with the Bounty mutineers, were poisoned or sterilized in 1997.


1985 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 277-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. R. Palmieri ◽  
S. Masbar ◽  
Purnomo ◽  
H. A. Marwoto ◽  
S. Tirtokusumo ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTThree hundred and twenty-five domestic cats (Felis catus) from six villages of the Hulu Sungai Tengah and Banjar Regency of South Kalimantan (Borneo), Indonesia, were examined for filarial nematodes. Parasites were found in 66 cats, of which 61 (92·4%) had Brugia pahangi, four (6·1%) has B. malayi and one (1·5%) had Dirofilaria repens. Infection rates ranged from 11% to 22% in cats from secondary forest/rice-field habitats, from 15% to 30% in open village/rice-field habitats, to 50% in an open coastal village. In all cases the infection rate of B. malayi in man was greater than in cats from the same collecting area. The number of B. pahangi microfilariae per 20 μl cat blood ranged from 34 at 1000 hours to 571 at 2200 hours. The results of this study suggest that in this region of Indonesia the domestic cat is not an important host for maintaining B. malayi.


1985 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 219-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. A. Berepubo

The chromosomes of cat embryos derived from three subfertile queens were studied 4 weeks postcoitum. The incidence of spontaneous chromosome anomalies was 15% and the type of abnormality observed was autosomal mosaicism. The significance of this finding and the developmental fate of the chromosomally aberrant embryos is discussed. The absence of polyploidy and (nonmosaic) autosomal trisomy, which are the most common observations in previous studies on mammalian embryos, suggests that the difference between the present observations and previous studies may be related to the difference in gestational stage studied, or to the difference in ovulatory patterns between domestic cats and other mammals. Polyploidy through ageing of the gametes is less likely in the cat than in spontaneous ovulators since ovulation in cats is induced only after coitus. It is speculated that chromosome analysis of earlier stages of embryonic development may reveal more severe forms of karyotype alteration.Key words: cytogenetics, embryos, subfertility, domestic cat.


2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olga Szeleszczuk ◽  
Marta Kuchta-Gładysz ◽  
Ewa Wójcik ◽  
Agnieszka Otwinowska-Mindur ◽  
Tomasz Wojnar ◽  
...  

Abstract. Sister chromatid exchange (SCE) is one of the cytogenetic methods which diagnoses damage to chromosomes and allows evaluation of the mutagenic influence of a given factor on a cell’s DNA. The purpose of the experiment was to determine the level of spontaneous and inductive SCE in the domestic cat. The research was carried out on 23 domestic cats Felis catus. Chromosome preparations were prepared from lymphocytes of peripheral blood after 72 h of in vitro breeding with the addition of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in five different concentrations: 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 5.0 μg/ml. Chromosomes were stained by means of the fluorescence plus Giemsa (FPG) technique in order to carry out microscopic analysis. It was stated that the level of spontaneous SCE in the domestic cat occurs at a concentration 0.5 μg/ml on the basis of research previously carried out. Higher concentrations of this substance have a genotoxic action and damage DNA of chromosomes and induct additional SCEs in chromosomes of this species. Moreover, it was stated that the number of SCEs is higher in males than females. Our research also proved that the number of exchanges increases along with age in cats of both sexes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Xu ◽  
Xiangdong Liu ◽  
Qiming Dai

Abstract Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) represents one of the most common inherited heart diseases. To identify key molecules involved in the development of HCM, gene expression patterns of the heart tissue samples in HCM patients from multiple microarray and RNA-seq platforms were investigated. Methods The significant genes were obtained through the intersection of two gene sets, corresponding to the identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) within the microarray data and within the RNA-Seq data. Those genes were further ranked using minimum-Redundancy Maximum-Relevance feature selection algorithm. Moreover, the genes were assessed by three different machine learning methods for classification, including support vector machines, random forest and k-Nearest Neighbor. Results Outstanding results were achieved by taking exclusively the top eight genes of the ranking into consideration. Since the eight genes were identified as candidate HCM hallmark genes, the interactions between them and known HCM disease genes were explored through the protein–protein interaction (PPI) network. Most candidate HCM hallmark genes were found to have direct or indirect interactions with known HCM diseases genes in the PPI network, particularly the hub genes JAK2 and GADD45A. Conclusions This study highlights the transcriptomic data integration, in combination with machine learning methods, in providing insight into the key hallmark genes in the genetic etiology of HCM.


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