title: The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) does not replicate in Syrian hamsters.
abstract: In 2012 a novel coronavirus, MERS-CoV, associated with severe respiratory disease emerged in the Arabian Peninsula. To date, 55 human cases have been reported, including 31 fatal cases. Several of the cases were likely a result of human-to-human transmission. The emergence of this novel coronavirus prompts the need for a small animal model to study the pathogenesis of this virus and to test the efficacy of potential intervention strategies. In this study we explored the use of Syrian hamsters as a small animal disease model, using intratracheal inoculation and inoculation via aerosol. Clinical signs of disease, virus replication, histological lesions, cytokine upregulation nor seroconversion were observed in any of the inoculated animals, indicating that MERS-CoV does not replicate in Syrian hamsters.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Virology, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health, Hamilton, Montana, United States of America. emmie.dewit@nih.gov
authors.forename: Emmie
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: de Wit
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Prescott
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Baseler
authors.forename: Trenton
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bushmaker
authors.forename: Tina
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Matthew G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Lackemeyer
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Martellaro
authors.forename: Shauna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Milne-Price
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Haddock
authors.forename: Bart L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Haagmans
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Feldmann
authors.forename: Vincent J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Munster
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001831:Body Temperature / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000502:physiology*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D006224:Cricetinae; D018819:Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4 / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D054884:Host-Pathogen Interactions; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008647:Mesocricetus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000821:virology*; D008877:Middle East; D012141:Respiratory Tract Infections / Q000821:virology*; D013577:Syndrome; D014779:Virus Replication / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D018819:Dipeptidyl Peptidase 4