EPIZOOTIOLOŠKI ČIMBENICI RIZIKA I KLINIČKA SLIKA INFEKCIJE SARS-CoV-2 VIRUSOM U PASA I MAČAKA

master's thesis

• Title (english): Epizootiological risk factors and clinical signs of SARS-CoV-2 viral infection in dogs and cats
• Author: Gorana Miletić
• Mentor: Vladimir Stevanović (mentor)
• Committee member: Ljubo Barbić (predsjednik povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Nevenka Rudan (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Vladimir Stevanović (član povjerenstva)
• Committee member: Matko Perharić (član povjerenstva)
• Granter: University of Zagreb; Faculty of Veterinary Medicine; Zagreb
• Defense date and country: 2023, Croatia
• Scientific / art field, discipline and subdiscipline: BIOMEDICINE AND HEALTHCARE; Veterinary Medicine

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 novi je koronavirus koji se od svoje pojave 2019. godine u Wuhanu, Kini proširio
diljem svijeta i značajno utjecao na zdravlje ljudi ali i životinja. Virus u ljudi uzrokuje bolest
nazvanu COVID-19, najčešće karakteriziranu respiratornim i probavnim simptomima, a kod
nekih ljudi i dugotrajnim posljedicama. Osim u ljudi pojava određene kliničke slike zabilježena
je i u nekih vrsta životinja. Kod vidrica na farmama, divljih životinja iz zooloških vrtova i
određenih vrsta kućnih ljubimaca dokazana je infekcija virusom i pojava kliničkih simptoma.
U ovom istraživanju dokazivala se infekcija pasa i mačaka virusom SARS-CoV-2 na području
Republike Hrvatske. Životinje su pretražene na tri najčešće izolirane varijante u ljudi Alfu,
Deltu i Omikron. Neutralizacijska protutijela dokazivana su iz uzoraka seruma prikupljenih
prilikom prijema životinja na Klinike Veterinarskog fakulteta Sveučilišta u Zagrebu. Pretraženi
su uzorci seruma prikupljeni od siječnja do travnja 2022. godine, pri čemu je prikupljeno 296
uzoraka seruma pasa i 140 uzoraka seruma mačaka. Preduvjet pri odabiru uzoraka bio je da
životinje imaju ispunjene anamnestičke podatke i podatke nacionala u medicinskom zapisniku.
Pretragom VN-testa dokazana je seroprevalencija od 21,9% u pasa i 18,6% u mačaka. Životinje
su testirane pozitivno na sve tri varijante čime je dokazano da postoji jednaka mogućnost zaraze
svakom od navedenih varijanti. Za razliku od ljudi u pasa i mačaka zabilježena je značajna
razina križne neutralizacije što upućuje na drugačiji imunosni odgovor. Zanimljivo je da dob i
spol, koji su kod ljudi i u prošlosti kod životinja naglašeni kao bitni čimbenici, nisu utjecali na
prijemljivost životinja na virus. Neovisno o tome dokazano je da se klinička slika nekih
životinja može povezati sa infekcijom SARS-CoV-2 virusa. Pri čemu su naizraženiji
gastrointestinalni simptomi u pasa i respiratorni simptomi u mačaka. Za bolje razumijevanje
patogeneze u životinja ali i njihova utjecaja kao izvora infekcije za druge, potrebno je daljnje
istraživanje pojavnosti virusa u istih.

Abstract (english)

SARS-CoV-2 is a novel coronavirus that, since its appearance in 2019 in Wuhan, China, has
spread throughout the world and significantly affected the health of people and animals. In
humans, the virus causes a disease called COVID-19, most often characterized by respiratory
and digestive symptoms, and in some people with long-term consequences. In addition to
humans, the appearance of a certain clinical signs has also been recorded in some animal
species. In minks on farms, wild animals from zoos and certain types of pets, infection with the
virus and the appearance of clinical symptoms have been proven.
In this research, the infection of dogs and cats with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in the territory of
the Republic of Croatia was tested. The animals were tested for, Alpha, Delta and Omicron, the
three most commonly isolated variants in humans. Neutralizing antibodies were detected from
serum samples collected during the admission of animals to the Clinics of the Veterinary
Faculty of the University of Zagreb. Serum samples were collected from January to April 2022.
296 dog serum samples and 140 cat serum samples were collected. A prerequisite for the
selection of samples was that the animals had complete anamnestic and physical examination
data in the medical records.
The VN-test showed a seroprevalence of 21.9% in dogs and 18.6% in cats. The animals were
tested positive for all three variants and proved that there is an equal possibility of infection
with each of the mentioned variants. In contrast to humans, a significant level of crossneutralization was recorded in dogs and cats, which points to a different immune response. It is
interesting that age and sex, which have been emphasized as important factors in humans and
in the past in animals, did not affect the susceptibility of animals to the virus. Regardless of
this, it has been proven that the clinical signs of some animals can be associated with SARSCoV-2 virus infection. Gastrointestinal symptoms are more pronounced in dogs and respiratory
symptoms in cats. For a better understanding of the pathogenesis in animals as well as their
influence as a source of infection for others, further research into the occurrence of viruse in
them is necessary.

• Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; koronavirus; psi; mačke; životinje; Republika Hrvatska; seroprevalencija; VN-test; varijante; Alfa; Delta; Omikron; klinička slika; gastrointestinalni simptomi; respiratorni simptomi
• Keywords (english): SARS-CoV-2; coronavirus; dogs; cats; animals; Republic of Croatia; seroprevalence; VN-test; variants; Alpha; Delta; Omicron; clinical signs; gastrointestinal symptoms; respiratory symptoms
• Language: croatian
• URN:NBN: urn:nbn:hr:178:930732
• Study programme: Title: Veterinary Medicine; Study programme type: university; Study level: integrated undergraduate and graduate; Academic / professional title: doktor/doktorica veterinarske medicine (doktor/doktorica veterinarske medicine)
• Type of resource: Text
• File origin: Born digital
• Access conditions: Open access
• Created on: 2023-01-30 10:09:39