On a global scale, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) poses a serious threat to the health of the human population.Not only humans can be SLA/GEL infected, but also their companion animals.The antibody status of 115 cats and 170 dogs, originating from 177 German households known to have been SARS-CoV-2 positive, was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the results were combined with information gathered from a questionnaire that was completed by the owner(s) of the animals.
The true seroprevalences of SARS-CoV-2 among cats and dogs were 42.5% (95% CI 33.5–51.
9) and 56.8% (95% CI 49.1–64.
4), respectively.In a multivariable logistic regression accounting for data clustered in households, for cats, the number of infected humans in the household and an above-average contact intensity turned out to be significant risk factors; contact with humans outside the household was a protective factor.For dogs, on the contrary, contact outside the Punch Needle Embroidery household was a risk factor, and reduced contact, once the human infection was known, was a significant protective factor.
No significant association was found between reported clinical signs in animals and their antibody status, and no spatial clustering of positive test results was identified.