Viruses, Vol. 14, Pages 2691: Do Blood Phenotypes of Feline AB Blood Group System Affect the SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Serostatus in Cats?

Viruses, Vol. 14, Pages 2691: Do Blood Phenotypes of Feline AB Blood Group System Affect the SARS-CoV-2 Antibody Serostatus in Cats? Viruses doi: 10.3390/v14122691 Authors: Eva Spada Federica Bruno Germano Castelli Fabrizio Vitale Stefano Reale Vito Biondi Antonella Migliazzo Roberta Perego Luciana Baggiani Daniela Proverbio Cats are susceptible to coronavirus infections, including infection by human severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV). In human ABO system blood groups, alloantibodies can play a direct role in resistance to infectious diseases. Individuals with the AB blood type were over-represented in the SARS-CoV-2 infection group. Blood type AB individuals lack both anti-A and anti-B antibodies, and therefore lack the protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 infection given by these antibodies. Starting from this knowledge, this pilot preliminary study evaluated a possible association between feline blood phenotypes A, B, and AB and serostatus for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in cats. We also investigated selected risk or protective factors associated with seropositivity for this coronavirus. A feline population of 215 cats was analysed for AB group system blood phenotypes and antibodies against the nucleocapsid (N-protein) SARS-CoV-2 antigen using a double antigen ELISA. SARS-CoV-2 seropositive samples were confirmed using a surrogate virus neutralization test (sVNT). Origin (stray colony/shelter/owned cat), breed (DSH/non DSH), gender...
Source: Viruses - Category: Virology Authors: Tags: Article Source Type: research