Carvallo, Francisco R.Martins, MathiasJoshi, Lok R.Caserta, Leonardo C.Mitchell, Patrick K.Cecere, Thomas E.Hancock, SandyGoodrich, Erin L.Murphy, JuliaDiel, Diego G.2021-08-092021-08-092021-07-31Carvallo, F.R.; Martins, M.; Joshi, L.R.; Caserta, L.C.; Mitchell, P.K.; Cecere, T.; Hancock, S.; Goodrich, E.L.; Murphy, J.; Diel, D.G. Severe SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Cat with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Viruses 2021, 13, 1510.http://hdl.handle.net/10919/104600Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19), has claimed millions of human lives worldwide since the emergence of the zoonotic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in China in December 2019. Notably, most severe and fatal SARS-CoV-2 infections in humans have been associated with underlying clinical conditions, including diabetes, hypertension and heart diseases. Here, we describe a case of severe SARS-CoV-2 infection in a domestic cat (<i>Felis catus</i>) that presented with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a chronic heart condition that has been described as a comorbidity of COVID-19 in humans and that is prevalent in domestic cats. The lung and heart of the affected cat presented clear evidence of SARS-CoV-2 replication, with histological lesions similar to those observed in humans with COVID-19 with high infectious viral loads being recovered from these organs. The study highlights the potential impact of comorbidities on the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 infection in animals and provides important information that may contribute to the development of a feline model with the potential to recapitulate the clinical outcomes of severe COVID-19 in humans.application/pdfenCreative Commons Attribution 4.0 InternationalCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2cathypertrophic cardiomyopathycomorbidityArticle - Refereed2021-08-06https://doi.org/10.3390/v13081510