An animal model of MERS produced by infection of rhesus macaques with MERS coronavirus.
In 2012, a novel coronavirus (CoV) associated with severe respiratory disease, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV; previously known as human coronavirus-Erasmus Medical Center or hCoV-EMC), emerged in the Arabian Peninsula. To date, 114 human cases of MERS-CoV have been reported, with 54 fatalities. Animal models for MERS-CoV infection of humans are needed to elucidate MERS pathogenesis and to develop vaccines and antivirals. In this study, we developed rhesus macaques as a model for MERS-CoV using intratracheal inoculation. The infected monkeys showed clinical signs of disease, virus replication, histological lesions, and neutralizing antibody production, indicating that this monkey model is suitable for studies of MERS-CoV infection.
Key Laboratory of Human Disease Comparative Medicine, Ministry of Health, Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Comparative Medicine Center, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing.
Yanfeng
Y
Yao
Linlin
L
Bao
Wei
W
Deng
Lili
L
Xu
Fengdi
F
Li
Qi
Q
Lv
Pin
P
Yu
Ting
T
Chen
Yanfeng
Y
Xu
Hua
H
Zhu
Jing
J
Yuan
Songzhi
S
Gu
Qiang
Q
Wei
Honglin
H
Chen
Kwok-Yung
KY
Yuen
Chuan
C
Qin
D000818:Animals; D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing / Q000097:blood; D000914:Antibodies, Viral / Q000097:blood; D017934:Coronavirus / Q000502:physiology*; D018352:Coronavirus Infections / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008253:Macaca mulatta; D014779:Virus Replication
D057134:Antibodies, Neutralizing; D000914:Antibodies, Viral
MERS; animal model; coronavirus; pathology; rhesus monkey