PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Selvaraj, Prabhuanand
AU  - Lien, Christopher Z
AU  - Liu, Shufeng
AU  - Stauft, Charles B
AU  - Nunez, Ivette A
AU  - Hernandez, Mario
AU  - Nimako, Eric
AU  - Ortega, Mario A
AU  - Starost, Matthew F
AU  - Dennis, John U
AU  - Wang, Tony T
TI  - SARS-CoV-2 infection induces protective immunity and limits transmission in Syrian hamsters
AID  - 10.26508/lsa.202000886
DP  - 2021 Apr 01
TA  - Life Science Alliance
PG  - e202000886
VI  - 4
IP  - 4
4099  - http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/4/4/e202000886.short
4100  - http://www.life-science-alliance.org/content/4/4/e202000886.full
SO  - Life Sci. Alliance2021 Apr 01; 4
AB  - A critical question in understanding the immunity to SARS-COV-2 is whether recovered patients are protected against re-challenge and transmission upon second exposure. We developed a Syrian hamster model in which intranasal inoculation of just 100 TCID50 virus caused viral pneumonia. Aged hamsters developed more severe disease and even succumbed to SARS-CoV-2 infection, representing the first lethal model using genetically unmodified laboratory animals. After initial viral clearance, the hamsters were re-challenged with 105 TCID50 SARS-CoV-2 and displayed more than 4 log reduction in median viral loads in both nasal washes and lungs in comparison to primary infections. Most importantly, re-challenged hamsters were unable to transmit virus to naïve hamsters, and this was accompanied by the presence of neutralizing antibodies. Altogether, these results show that SARS-CoV-2 infection induces protective immunity that not only prevents re-exposure but also limits transmission in hamsters. These findings may help guide public health policies and vaccine development and aid evaluation of effective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2.