Syrian Hamster Sars Cov 2

Sars cov 2 that causes respiratory disease in and transmits among humans was.

Syrian hamster sars cov 2. Since sars cov 2 emerged in china it has spread rapidly around the world. At the end of 2019 a novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. Sars cov 2 isolates replicated efficiently in the lungs of hamsters causing severe pathological lung lesions following intranasal infection. Syrian hamsters sars cov 2 infection countermeasure t he emergence of new pathogens in humans can impose huge public health and economic burdens on a global scale in large part because of lack of preexisting immunity.

Here we assessed the replicative ability and pathogenesis of sars cov 2 isolates in syrian hamsters. Syrian hamsters are a useful small animal model for the evaluation of vaccines immunotherapies and antiviral drugs. We used syrian hamsters to establish a model to evaluate antiviral activity of small molecules in both an infection and a transmission setting. Here we report the pathogenesis and transmissibility of sars cov 2 in golden syrian hamsters mesocricetus auratus.

Using this newly established model we demonstrated the high transmissibility of sars cov 2 among close contact animals. Hydroxychloroquine does not counter sars cov 2 in hamsters high dose of favipiravir does virologists at the ku leuven rega institute have been working on two lines of sars cov 2 research. We determined the infectious dose 50 to be only five infectious particles making the syrian hamster a highly susceptible model for sars cov 2. Here we show that intranasal inoculation of sars cov 2 into syrian hamsters consistently caused moderate broncho interstitial pneumonia with high viral lung loads and extensive virus shedding but animals only displayed transient mild disease.

Syrian hamsters are permissive to sars cov 2 and develop mild lung disease similar to the disease observed in early stage covid 19 patients. A suitable small animal model is needed to support the development of vaccines and therapies. Effective vaccines and therapeutics for sars cov 2 induced disease coronavirus disease 2019 covid 19 are urgently needed. In addition microcomputed tomographic imaging revealed severe lung injury that shared characteristics with sars cov 2 infected human lung including.

An in vitro cell model for sars cov 2 research is essential for understanding the viral life cycle for amplifying and isolating the virus for further research and for preclinical evaluation of therapeutic molecules.