Susceptibility of pigs and chickens to SARS coronavirus.
An outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in humans, associated with a new coronavirus, was reported in Southeast Asia, Europe, and North America in early 2003. To address speculations that the virus originated in domesticated animals, or that domestic species were susceptible to the virus, we inoculated 6-week-old pigs and chickens intravenously, intranasally, ocularly, and orally with 106 PFU of SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). Clinical signs did not develop in any animal, nor were gross pathologic changes evident on postmortem examinations. Attempts at virus isolation were unsuccessful; however, viral RNA was detected by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction in blood of both species during the first week after inoculation, and in chicken organs at 2 weeks after inoculation. Virus-neutralizing antibodies developed in the pigs. Our results indicate that these animals do not play a role as amplifying hosts for SARS-CoV.
Weingartl
Hana M
HM
Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal Health, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. hweingartl@inspection.gc.ca
Copps
John
J
Drebot
Michael A
MA
Marszal
Peter
P
Smith
Greg
G
Gren
Jason
J
Andova
Maya
M
Pasick
John
J
Kitching
Paul
P
Czub
Markus
M
D000818:Animals; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D001483:Base Sequence; D002460:Cell Line; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002645:Chickens; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D003429:Cross Reactions; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics; D004197:Disease Reservoirs; D012367:RNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D045473:Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000472:pathogenicity* / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D034421:Sus scrofa; D014709:Vero Cells; D014779:Virus Replication
D000914:Antibodies, Viral; D004279:DNA, Viral; D012367:RNA, Viral