Suspected Cat-to-Human Transmission of SARS-CoV-2, Thailand, July–September 2021
Thanit Sila, Jutapoln Sunghan, Wison Laochareonsuk, Smonrapat Surasombatpattana, Chanon Kongkamol, Thammasin Ingviya, Pisud Siripaitoon, Narongdet Kositpantawong, Siripen Kanchanasuwan, Thanaporn Hortiwakul, Boonsri Charernmak, Ozioma Forstinus Nwabor, Kachornsakdi Silpapojakul, Sarunyou Chusri
Abstract
C OVID-19, caused by SARS-CoV-2, has been sus- pected to be a zoonosis because of its link to a live animal market in Wuhan, China (1). In addition, several countries in the Americas, Africa, Europe, and Asia have reported the occurrence of COVID-19 in various animal species, including minks, cats, dogs, lions, and tigers (2). However, most of these infections primarily originated from humans and were transmitted to the animal (i.e., reverse zoonosis), with numerous reports in domestic cats (2,3). A recent report describes a possible animal-to-human transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from infected farm minks to farmworkers in the Netherlands (4). We describe a suspected zoonotic SARS-CoV-2 transmission from a cat to a human.