ABSTRACT
Effective clinical intervention strategies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are urgently needed. Although several clinical trials have evaluated use of convalescent plasma containing virus-neutralizing antibodies, levels of neutralizing antibodies are usually not assessed and the effectiveness has not been proven. We show that hamsters treated prophylactically with a 1:2560 titer of human convalescent plasma or a 1:5260 titer of monoclonal antibody were protected against weight loss, had a significant reduction of virus replication in the lungs, and showed reduced pneumonia. Interestingly, this protective effect was lost with a titer of 1:320 of convalescent plasma. These data highlight the importance of screening plasma donors for high levels of neutralizing antibodies. Our data show that prophylactic administration of high levels of neutralizing antibody, either monoclonal or from convalescent plasma, prevent severe SARS-CoV-2 pneumonia in a hamster model, and could be used as an alternative or complementary to other antiviral treatments for COVID-19.
Subject(s)
Antibodies, Monoclonal/therapeutic use , Antibodies, Neutralizing/therapeutic use , COVID-19/therapy , Lung/pathology , SARS-CoV-2/immunology , Virus Replication/drug effects , Animals , Antibodies, Monoclonal/administration & dosage , Antibodies, Neutralizing/administration & dosage , COVID-19/immunology , Cricetinae , Disease Models, Animal , Humans , Immunization, Passive , Lung/drug effects , Virus Shedding/drug effects , Weight Loss/drug effects , COVID-19 SerotherapyABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2 emerged in late 2019 and caused a pandemic, whereas the closely related SARS-CoV was contained rapidly in 2003. Here, an experimental set-up is used to study transmission of SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 through the air between ferrets over more than a meter distance. Both viruses cause a robust productive respiratory tract infection resulting in transmission of SARS-CoV-2 to two of four indirect recipient ferrets and SARS-CoV to all four. A control pandemic A/H1N1 influenza virus also transmits efficiently. Serological assays confirm all virus transmission events. Although the experiments do not discriminate between transmission via small aerosols, large droplets and fomites, these results demonstrate that SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 can remain infectious while traveling through the air. Efficient virus transmission between ferrets is in agreement with frequent SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in mink farms. Although the evidence for virus transmission via the air between humans under natural conditions is absent or weak for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, ferrets may represent a sensitive model to study interventions aimed at preventing virus transmission.
Subject(s)
Air Microbiology , COVID-19/transmission , Ferrets/virology , SARS-CoV-2 , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/transmission , Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus , Aerosols , Amino Acid Substitution , Animal Fur/virology , Animals , COVID-19/virology , Disease Models, Animal , Female , Fomites/virology , Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype , Models, Biological , Orthomyxoviridae Infections/transmission , Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide , SARS-CoV-2/genetics , Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome/virology , Time Factors , Viral Load , Viral Zoonoses/transmission , Viral Zoonoses/virology , Virus SheddingABSTRACT
SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus that emerged in late 2019, has spread rapidly worldwide, and information about the modes of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among humans is critical to apply appropriate infection control measures and to slow its spread. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted efficiently via direct contact and via the air (via respiratory droplets and/or aerosols) between ferrets, 1 to 3 days and 3 to 7 days after exposure respectively. The pattern of virus shedding in the direct contact and indirect recipient ferrets is similar to that of the inoculated ferrets and infectious virus is isolated from all positive animals, showing that ferrets are productively infected via either route. This study provides experimental evidence of robust transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via the air, supporting the implementation of community-level social distancing measures currently applied in many countries in the world and informing decisions on infection control measures in healthcare settings.
Subject(s)
Betacoronavirus/physiology , Coronavirus Infections/transmission , Coronavirus Infections/virology , Pneumonia, Viral/transmission , Pneumonia, Viral/virology , Animals , Antibodies, Viral/blood , Betacoronavirus/genetics , Betacoronavirus/immunology , Betacoronavirus/isolation & purification , COVID-19 , Disease Models, Animal , Ferrets , Genome, Viral/genetics , Humans , Pandemics , Rectum/virology , Respiratory System/virology , SARS-CoV-2 , Sequence Analysis, RNA , Virus SheddingABSTRACT
The current pandemic coronavirus, severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was recently identified in patients with an acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). To compare its pathogenesis with that of previously emerging coronaviruses, we inoculated cynomolgus macaques with SARS-CoV-2 or Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS)-CoV and compared the pathology and virology with historical reports of SARS-CoV infections. In SARS-CoV-2-infected macaques, virus was excreted from nose and throat in the absence of clinical signs and detected in type I and II pneumocytes in foci of diffuse alveolar damage and in ciliated epithelial cells of nasal, bronchial, and bronchiolar mucosae. In SARS-CoV infection, lung lesions were typically more severe, whereas they were milder in MERS-CoV infection, where virus was detected mainly in type II pneumocytes. These data show that SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19-like disease in macaques and provides a new model to test preventive and therapeutic strategies.