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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is the aetiological agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an emerging respiratory infection caused by the introduction of a novel coronavirus into humans late in 2019 (first detected in Hubei province, China). As of 18 September 2020, SARS-CoV-2 has spread to 215 countries, has infected more than 30 million people and has caused more than 950,000 deaths. As humans do not have pre-existing immunity to SARS-CoV-2, there is an urgent need to develop therapeutic agents and vaccines to mitigate the current pandemic and to prevent the re-emergence of COVID-19. In February 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) assembled an international panel to develop animal models for COVID-19 to accelerate the testing of vaccines and therapeutic agents. Here we summarize the findings to date and provides relevant information for preclinical testing of vaccine candidates and therapeutic agents for COVID-19.

Original publication

DOI

10.1038/s41586-020-2787-6

Type

Journal article

Journal

Nature

Publication Date

10/2020

Volume

586

Pages

509 - 515

Addresses

Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.

Keywords

Animals, Ferrets, Primates, Humans, Mesocricetus, Mice, Pneumonia, Viral, Coronavirus Infections, Disease Models, Animal, Viral Vaccines, Pandemics, Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 Vaccines