Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes transient lower respiratory tract infection in rhesus macaques
E De Wit, AL Rasmussen… - Proceedings of the …, 2013 - National Acad Sciences
E De Wit, AL Rasmussen, D Falzarano, T Bushmaker, F Feldmann, DL Brining, ER Fischer…
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2013•National Acad SciencesIn 2012, a novel betacoronavirus, designated Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus
or MERS-CoV and associated with severe respiratory disease in humans, emerged in the
Arabian Peninsula. To date, 108 human cases have been reported, including cases of
human-to-human transmission. The availability of an animal disease model is essential for
understanding pathogenesis and developing effective countermeasures. Upon a
combination of intratracheal, ocular, oral, and intranasal inoculation with 7× 106 50% tissue …
or MERS-CoV and associated with severe respiratory disease in humans, emerged in the
Arabian Peninsula. To date, 108 human cases have been reported, including cases of
human-to-human transmission. The availability of an animal disease model is essential for
understanding pathogenesis and developing effective countermeasures. Upon a
combination of intratracheal, ocular, oral, and intranasal inoculation with 7× 106 50% tissue …
In 2012, a novel betacoronavirus, designated Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus or MERS-CoV and associated with severe respiratory disease in humans, emerged in the Arabian Peninsula. To date, 108 human cases have been reported, including cases of human-to-human transmission. The availability of an animal disease model is essential for understanding pathogenesis and developing effective countermeasures. Upon a combination of intratracheal, ocular, oral, and intranasal inoculation with 7 × 106 50% tissue culture infectious dose of the MERS-CoV isolate HCoV-EMC/2012, rhesus macaques developed a transient lower respiratory tract infection. Clinical signs, virus shedding, virus replication in respiratory tissues, gene expression, and cytokine and chemokine profiles peaked early in infection and decreased over time. MERS-CoV caused a multifocal, mild to marked interstitial pneumonia, with virus replication occurring mainly in alveolar pneumocytes. This tropism of MERS-CoV for the lower respiratory tract may explain the severity of the disease observed in humans and the, up to now, limited human-to-human transmission.
National Acad Sciences
