SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted via contact and via the air between ferrets

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Abstract

SARS-CoV-2, a coronavirus that emerged in late 2019, has spread rapidly worldwide, and information about the modes of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 among humans is critical to apply appropriate infection control measures and to slow its spread. Here we show that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted efficiently via direct contact and via the air (via respiratory droplets and/or aerosols) between ferrets, 1 to 3 days and 3 to 7 days after exposure respectively. The pattern of virus shedding in the direct contact and indirect recipient ferrets is similar to that of the inoculated ferrets and infectious virus is isolated from all positive animals, showing that ferrets are productively infected via either route. This study provides experimental evidence of robust transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via the air, supporting the implementation of community-level social distancing measures currently applied in many countries in the world and informing decisions on infection control measures in healthcare settings.

Abstract

SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly spread globally and animal models to study transmission are needed. Here, Richard et al. show efficient transmission of SARS-CoV-2 between ferrets via direct contact and via the air, through respiratory droplets and/or aerosols.

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Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

Chaolin Huang, Yeming Wang, Xingwang Li … (2020)

Summary Background A recent cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel betacoronavirus, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). We report the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of these patients. Methods All patients with suspected 2019-nCoV were admitted to a designated hospital in Wuhan. We prospectively collected and analysed data on patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by real-time RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing. Data were obtained with standardised data collection forms shared by WHO and the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium from electronic medical records. Researchers also directly communicated with patients or their families to ascertain epidemiological and symptom data. Outcomes were also compared between patients who had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and those who had not. Findings By Jan 2, 2020, 41 admitted hospital patients had been identified as having laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection. Most of the infected patients were men (30 [73%] of 41); less than half had underlying diseases (13 [32%]), including diabetes (eight [20%]), hypertension (six [15%]), and cardiovascular disease (six [15%]). Median age was 49·0 years (IQR 41·0–58·0). 27 (66%) of 41 patients had been exposed to Huanan seafood market. One family cluster was found. Common symptoms at onset of illness were fever (40 [98%] of 41 patients), cough (31 [76%]), and myalgia or fatigue (18 [44%]); less common symptoms were sputum production (11 [28%] of 39), headache (three [8%] of 38), haemoptysis (two [5%] of 39), and diarrhoea (one [3%] of 38). Dyspnoea developed in 22 (55%) of 40 patients (median time from illness onset to dyspnoea 8·0 days [IQR 5·0–13·0]). 26 (63%) of 41 patients had lymphopenia. All 41 patients had pneumonia with abnormal findings on chest CT. Complications included acute respiratory distress syndrome (12 [29%]), RNAaemia (six [15%]), acute cardiac injury (five [12%]) and secondary infection (four [10%]). 13 (32%) patients were admitted to an ICU and six (15%) died. Compared with non-ICU patients, ICU patients had higher plasma levels of IL2, IL7, IL10, GSCF, IP10, MCP1, MIP1A, and TNFα. Interpretation The 2019-nCoV infection caused clusters of severe respiratory illness similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and was associated with ICU admission and high mortality. Major gaps in our knowledge of the origin, epidemiology, duration of human transmission, and clinical spectrum of disease need fulfilment by future studies. Funding Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.

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A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019

Na Zhu, Dingyu Zhang, Wenling Wang … (2020)

Summary In December 2019, a cluster of patients with pneumonia of unknown cause was linked to a seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, China. A previously unknown betacoronavirus was discovered through the use of unbiased sequencing in samples from patients with pneumonia. Human airway epithelial cells were used to isolate a novel coronavirus, named 2019-nCoV, which formed a clade within the subgenus sarbecovirus, Orthocoronavirinae subfamily. Different from both MERS-CoV and SARS-CoV, 2019-nCoV is the seventh member of the family of coronaviruses that infect humans. Enhanced surveillance and further investigation are ongoing. (Funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China and the National Major Project for Control and Prevention of Infectious Disease in China.)

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A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin

Peng Zhou, Xing-Lou Yang, Xian-Guang Wang … (2020)

Since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) 18 years ago, a large number of SARS-related coronaviruses (SARSr-CoVs) have been discovered in their natural reservoir host, bats 1–4 . Previous studies have shown that some bat SARSr-CoVs have the potential to infect humans 5–7 . Here we report the identification and characterization of a new coronavirus (2019-nCoV), which caused an epidemic of acute respiratory syndrome in humans in Wuhan, China. The epidemic, which started on 12 December 2019, had caused 2,794 laboratory-confirmed infections including 80 deaths by 26 January 2020. Full-length genome sequences were obtained from five patients at an early stage of the outbreak. The sequences are almost identical and share 79.6% sequence identity to SARS-CoV. Furthermore, we show that 2019-nCoV is 96% identical at the whole-genome level to a bat coronavirus. Pairwise protein sequence analysis of seven conserved non-structural proteins domains show that this virus belongs to the species of SARSr-CoV. In addition, 2019-nCoV virus isolated from the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of a critically ill patient could be neutralized by sera from several patients. Notably, we confirmed that 2019-nCoV uses the same cell entry receptor—angiotensin converting enzyme II (ACE2)—as SARS-CoV.

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Author and article information

Contributors

Sander Herfst:

ORCID: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9866-8903

s.herfst@erasmusmc.nl

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): Nat Commun

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): Nat Commun

Title: Nature Communications

Publisher: Nature Publishing Group UK (London )

ISSN (Electronic): 2041-1723

Publication date (Electronic): 8 July 2020

Publication date PMC-release: 8 July 2020

Publication date Collection: 2020

Volume: 11

Electronic Location Identifier: 3496

Affiliations

[1 ]ISNI 000000040459992X, GRID grid.5645.2, Department of Viroscience, , Erasmus University Medical Center, ; Rotterdam, The Netherlands

[2 ]ISNI 000000040459992X, GRID grid.5645.2, Erasmus Laboratory Animal Science Center, , Erasmus University Medical Center, ; Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Author information

Mathilde Richard http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0240-9312

Adinda Kok http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3635-7952

Mart M. Lamers http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1431-4022

Nisreen M. A. Okba http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2394-1079

Martje Fentener van Vlissingen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2213-5910

Barry Rockx http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2463-027X

Bart L. Haagmans http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6221-2015

Marion P. G. Koopmans http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5204-2312

Ron A. M. Fouchier http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8095-2869

Sander Herfst http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9866-8903

Article

Publisher ID: 17367

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-17367-2

PMC ID: 7343828

PubMed ID: 32641684

SO-VID: 68c952b7-aefe-4bb5-9600-ea09ef620b74

License:

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

History

Date received : 15 April 2020

Date accepted : 25 June 2020

Funding

Funded by: FundRef https://doi.org/10.13039/100010661, EC | Horizon 2020 Framework Programme (EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation H2020);

Award ID: 731014

Award Recipient : Sander Herfst

Funded by: FundRef https://doi.org/10.13039/100006492, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Division of Intramural Research of the NIAID);

Award ID: HHSN272201400008C

Award Recipient : Sander Herfst

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Keywords: sars-cov-2,viral transmission

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ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized

Keywords: sars-cov-2, viral transmission

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SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted via contact and via the air between ferrets

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 12

Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China

A Novel Coronavirus from Patients with Pneumonia in China, 2019

A pneumonia outbreak associated with a new coronavirus of probable bat origin

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