Low SARS-CoV-2 Seroprevalence and No Active Infections among Dogs and Cats in Animal Shelters with Laboratory-Confirmed COVID-19 Human Cases among Employees

SIMPLE SUMMARY: We investigated dogs and cats living in four animal shelters in the United States that had been exposed to people with COVID-19 in the shelters. Our objective was to understand if the animals were infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. We found that out of the 96 dogs and cats that we sampled, none had active SARS-CoV-2 infections and only one dog had detectable antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, meaning that it had been exposed to the virus but was not actively infected. This suggests that the risk of humans spreading SARS-CoV-2 to dogs and cats in animal shelter settings is probably low. ABSTRACT: Human-to-animal and animal-to-animal transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has been documented; however, investigations into SARS-CoV-2 transmission in congregate animal settings are lacking. We investigated four animal shelters in the United States that had identified animals with exposure to shelter employees with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Of the 96 cats and dogs with specimens collected, only one dog had detectable SARS-CoV-2 neutralizing antibodies; no animal specimens had detectable viral RNA. These data indicate a low probability of human-to-animal transmission events in cats and dogs in shelter settings with early implementation of infection prevention interventions.