Sars-Cov-2 Virus Pathogenicity in Syrian Hamsters at Different Routes of Inoculation

Abstract

In early December 2019, humanity faced a new problem caused by a coronavirus. An epidemic event capable of causing severe primary viral pneumonia in humans began to develop in the central Chinese province of Hubei. The isolated etiological agent was identified as a member of Coronaviridae. Currently, the global pandemic associated with a new coronavirus infection of acute respiratory syndrome type 2 (SARS-CoV-2 - Severe acute respiratory syndrome 2) has become a challenge for humanity. In this work, the replicative capacity and pathogenesis of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in hamsters under different infection methods was evaluated. SARS-CoV-2 virus isolates showed effective replication in hamster lungs, leading to pathological lung lesions upon intranasal infection. When infected with this virus, the clinical manifestations of the disease in hamsters were characterized by decreased body temperature and live weight, moistening and ruffling of hair, and frequent stroking of the nasal mirror. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 was detected with higher titers from the group infected intranasally in cell culture from nasal, oral flushes, and lungs compared to other infection methods (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the pathological autopsy results showed some pathological changes in the lungs of hamsters infected intranasally. Moreover, airborne transmission was found in the co-maintenance of a healthy hamster with intranasally infected hamster. In conclusion, our work shows that the Syrian hamster model can be used to study SARS-CoV-2 pathogenesis and vaccine testing against type 2 acute respiratory syndrome.