Preprint Case Report Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Gastrointestinal Manifestation of Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection in an Immunocompromised Dog

Elizabeth M. Lennon
* ORCID logo ,
Alfonso Oceguera
,
Eli Braun
,
Stephen D. Cole
,
Nolan V. Chalifoux
,
Jillian Whelan
,
Nuala Meyer
,
Kimberly Slensky
,
Andreanne Cleroux
,
Susan R. Weiss
ORCID logo ,
Una O'Doherty
,
Shelley C. Rankin
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 2 April 2021 / Approved: 5 April 2021 / Online: 5 April 2021 (12:23:45 CEST)

How to cite: Lennon, E.M.; Oceguera, A.; Braun, E.; Cole, S.D.; Chalifoux, N.V.; Whelan, J.; Meyer, N.; Slensky, K.; Cleroux, A.; Weiss, S.R.; O'Doherty, U.; Rankin, S.C. Gastrointestinal Manifestation of Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection in an Immunocompromised Dog. Preprints 2021, 2021040122. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0122.v1 Lennon, E.M.; Oceguera, A.; Braun, E.; Cole, S.D.; Chalifoux, N.V.; Whelan, J.; Meyer, N.; Slensky, K.; Cleroux, A.; Weiss, S.R.; O'Doherty, U.; Rankin, S.C. Gastrointestinal Manifestation of Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection in an Immunocompromised Dog. Preprints 2021, 2021040122. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202104.0122.v1

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 infects a range of host species. However, the susceptibility of companion animals to SARS-CoV-2 and their potential ability to transmit the virus to humans remains unclear. Here, we present a detailed clinical description of an immunosuppressed dog that was infected with SARS-CoV-2. The dog had severe gastrointestinal (GI) clinical signs, coagulopathy, elevated hepatic transaminases, and met canine systemic inflammatory response syndrome criteria, without respiratory clinical signs, mirroring a subset of humans with GI-restricted COVID-19. Viral sequencing demonstrated divergence from other reported sequences, based on phylogenetic analysis. The dog shed high levels of virus for a prolonged time period with positive virus isolation. The dog’s immunosuppressed state may have increased both susceptibility to infection and disease progression. Together, our findings suggest that certain individual companion animals may be at higher risk for severe SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19-like disease, and high viral shedding, which may pose a transmission risk to humans.

Keywords

SARS-CoV-2; canine; gastrointestinal; infection; virus

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Veterinary Medicine

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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