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Age-related susceptibility of ferrets to SARS-CoV-2 infection

Mathias Martins, Maureen H.V. Fernandes, Lok R. Joshi, View ORCID ProfileDiego G. Diel
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.16.456510
Mathias Martins
1Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
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Maureen H.V. Fernandes
1Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
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Lok R. Joshi
1Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
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Diego G. Diel
1Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
2Cornell COVID-19 Testing Laboratory, Animal Health Diagnostic Center, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University
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  • ORCID record for Diego G. Diel
  • For correspondence: dgdiel@cornell.edu
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Abstract

Susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 and the outcome of COVID-19 have been linked to underlying health conditions and the age of affected individuals. Here we assessed the effect of age on SARS-CoV-2 infection using a ferret model. For this, young (6-month-old) and aged (18-to-39-month-old) ferrets were inoculated intranasally with various doses of SARS-CoV-2. By using infectious virus shedding in respiratory secretions and seroconversion, we estimated that the infectious dose of SARS-CoV-2 in aged animals is ∼32 plaque forming units (PFU) per animal while in young animals it was estimated to be ∼100 PFU. We showed that viral replication in the upper respiratory tract and shedding in respiratory secretions is enhanced in aged ferrets when compared to young animals. Similar to observations in humans, this was associated with higher expressions levels of two key viral entry factors - ACE2 and TMPRSS2 - in the upper respiratory tract of aged ferrets.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted August 16, 2021.
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Age-related susceptibility of ferrets to SARS-CoV-2 infection
Mathias Martins, Maureen H.V. Fernandes, Lok R. Joshi, Diego G. Diel
bioRxiv 2021.08.16.456510; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.16.456510
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Age-related susceptibility of ferrets to SARS-CoV-2 infection
Mathias Martins, Maureen H.V. Fernandes, Lok R. Joshi, Diego G. Diel
bioRxiv 2021.08.16.456510; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.08.16.456510

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