TY - JOUR
T1 - Pathogenicity, transmissibility, and fitness of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron in Syrian hamsters
AU - Yuan, Shuofeng
AU - Ye, Zi Wei
AU - Liang, Ronghui
AU - Tang, Kaiming
AU - Zhang, Anna Jinxia
AU - Lu, Gang
AU - Ong, Chon Phin
AU - Poon, Vincent Kwok Man
AU - Chan, Chris Chung Sing
AU - Mok, Bobo Wing Yee
AU - Qin, Zhenzhi
AU - Xie, Yubin
AU - Chu, Allen Wing Ho
AU - Chan, Wan Mui
AU - Ip, Jonathan Daniel
AU - Sun, Haoran
AU - Tsang, Jessica Oi Ling
AU - Yuen, Terrence Tsz Tai
AU - Chik, Kenn Ka Heng
AU - Chan, Chris Chun Yiu
AU - Cai, Jian Piao
AU - Luo, Cuiting
AU - Lu, Lu
AU - Yip, Cyril Chik Yan
AU - Chu, Hin
AU - To, Kelvin Kai Wang
AU - Chen, Honglin
AU - Jin, Dong Yan
AU - Yuen, Kwok Yung
AU - Chan, Jasper Fuk Woo
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2022 The Authors, some rights reserved.
PY - 2022/7/22
Y1 - 2022/7/22
N2 - The in vivo pathogenicity, transmissibility, and fitness of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant are not well understood. We compared these virological attributes of this new variant of concern (VOC) with those of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant in a Syrian hamster model of COVID-19. Omicron-infected hamsters lost significantly less body weight and exhibited reduced clinical scores, respiratory tract viral burdens, cytokine and chemokine dysregulation, and lung damage than Delta-infected hamsters. Both variants were highly transmissible through contact transmission. In noncontact transmission studies Omicron demonstrated similar or higher transmissibility than Delta. Delta outcompeted Omicron without selection pressure, but this scenario changed once immune selection pressure with neutralizing antibodies - active against Delta but poorly active against Omicron - was introduced. Next-generation vaccines and antivirals effective against this new VOC are therefore urgently needed.
AB - The in vivo pathogenicity, transmissibility, and fitness of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant are not well understood. We compared these virological attributes of this new variant of concern (VOC) with those of the Delta (B.1.617.2) variant in a Syrian hamster model of COVID-19. Omicron-infected hamsters lost significantly less body weight and exhibited reduced clinical scores, respiratory tract viral burdens, cytokine and chemokine dysregulation, and lung damage than Delta-infected hamsters. Both variants were highly transmissible through contact transmission. In noncontact transmission studies Omicron demonstrated similar or higher transmissibility than Delta. Delta outcompeted Omicron without selection pressure, but this scenario changed once immune selection pressure with neutralizing antibodies - active against Delta but poorly active against Omicron - was introduced. Next-generation vaccines and antivirals effective against this new VOC are therefore urgently needed.
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U2 - 10.1126/science.abn8939
DO - 10.1126/science.abn8939
M3 - Article
C2 - 35737809
AN - SCOPUS:85134504514
SN - 0036-8075
VL - 377
SP - 428
EP - 433
JO - Science
JF - Science
IS - 6604
ER -