Transmission and Protection against Reinfection in the Ferret Model with the SARS-CoV-2 USA-WA1/2020 Reference Isolate.

ABSTRACT: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has initiated a global pandemic, and several vaccines have now received emergency use authorization. Using the reference strain SARS-CoV-2 USA-WA1/2020, we evaluated modes of transmission and the ability of prior infection or vaccine-induced immunity to protect against infection in ferrets. Ferrets were semipermissive to infection with the USA-WA1/2020 isolate. When transmission was assessed via the detection of viral RNA (vRNA) at multiple time points, direct contact transmission was efficient to 3/3 and 3/4 contact animals in 2 respective studies, while respiratory droplet transmission was poor to only 1/4 contact animals. To determine if previously infected ferrets were protected against reinfection, ferrets were rechallenged

SUBMITTER: Patel DR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8315962 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature