Abstract
The global presence of SARS-CoV-2 in household pets is acknowledged, yet documentation remains scarce, leaving many regions unexplored. Thus, our study sought to fill this gap by investigating SARS-CoV-2 presence in dogs visiting veterinary clinics during the third pandemic peak in eastern Colombia. We collected and analyzed 43 oropharyngeal and rectal swabs using real-time PCR assays targeting the Envelope Gene of SARS-CoV-2. Out of these, two dogs tested positive, indicating an infection rate of 4.7%. Further examination through complete sequencing and phylogenetic analysis revealed the lineage B.1.621 for the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Consequently, our study unveils the first documented cases of Canis lupus familiaris infected with the Mu variant of SARS‐CoV‐2, the variant with the most death burden during the whole pandemic in Colombia. Remarkably, these cases presented mild and reversible respiratory and gastrointestinal symptoms, or no clinical manifestations at all. This sheds light on the virus's interaction with our four-legged companions, offering valuable insights into its transmission dynamics and potential effects on animal health.
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No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their gratitude to veterinary clinics (Fauna, Hemalav, Vet Center, Los perritos, Centro Médico Veterinario and Vetermédicas), for agreeing to participate in the study. Likewise, to all the pet owners who also voluntarily decided to take part in the work.
Funding
This work was supported by Universidad de Santander, Grant numbers (CIF-1621) and Universidad del Rosario.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation: CMSR, JCP, NB, CH. Data collection and analysis were performed by CMSR, JP, MM, NB, CH and JDR. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [CMSR, MM and NB] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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This research project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the University of Santander according to number 029 (17-12-2020) and provided the permit from ANLA (Autoridad Nacional de Licencias Ambientales) for sampling (1749).
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Sandoval-Ramírez, C.M., Ballesteros, N., Pinilla, J.C. et al. SARS-CoV-2 Mu variant in dogs visiting veterinary clinics during the third pandemic peak in Eastern Colombia. Vet Res Commun (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10374-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11259-024-10374-4