Detection of Leishmania major and Leishmania infantum in cats during an outbreak of cutaneous leishmaniosis in Southern Israel.

Prevalence of Leishmania spp. infection was studied in stray cats in two military bases in Southern Israel during a cutaneous leishmaniosis (CL) human outbreak caused by Leishmania major. Human CL cases increased from 0/100 in 2008 to 1.28/100 in 2022 in camp #1, and from 0.17/100 in 2008 to 6.4/100 in 2022, in camp #2. Eight out of 29 cats sampled were Leishmania-seropositive (28 %) and 7/29 (24 %) were internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) PCR-positive, out of which four (14 %) were positive for L. major and three (10 %) for L. infantum. Five positive-cats had skin lesions including ulcers, alopecia and scabs, and five had eye lesions. This is the first report of L. major infection in cats in Israel and one of the first descriptions in felines worldwide. A larger cohort of cats and vector studies are necessary to determine if felids may act as reservoirs or sentinels of human L. major infection.

Low serological rate of SARS-CoV-2 in cats from military bases in Israel.

Domestic cats are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection and can transmit the virus to other felines. A high number of COVID-19 human cases within the military personnel and a high density of stray cats living close to soldiers raised the need to perform active animal surveillance. We validated a novel quantitative serological microarray for use in cats, that enables simultaneous detection of IgG and IgM responses; in addition, molecular genetic SARS-CoV-2 detection was performed. Three out of 131 cats analyzed, showed IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 RBD and S2P (2.3 %). None of cats were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA by RT-PCR. SARS-CoV-2 infection rate in soldiers ranged from 4.7 % to 16 % (average rate=8.9 %). Further investigations on a larger cohort are necessary, in the light of the emerging new viral variants in other animal species and in humans.