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Reduced Pathogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Hamsters

Katherine McMahan, Victoria Giffin, Lisa H. Tostanoski, Benjamin Chung, Mazuba Siamatu, View ORCID ProfileMehul S. Suthar, Peter Halfmann, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Cesar Piedra-Mora, Amanda J. Martinot, Swagata Kar, Hanne Andersen, Mark G. Lewis, Dan H. Barouch
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.02.474743
Katherine McMahan
1Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
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Victoria Giffin
1Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
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Lisa H. Tostanoski
1Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
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Benjamin Chung
1Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
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Mazuba Siamatu
1Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
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Mehul S. Suthar
2Emory Vaccine Center, Department of Pediatrics, Emory School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
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  • ORCID record for Mehul S. Suthar
Peter Halfmann
3Influenza Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53711, USA
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Yoshihiro Kawaoka
3Influenza Research Institute, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53711, USA
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Cesar Piedra-Mora
4Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA, USA
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Amanda J. Martinot
4Tufts University Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA, USA
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Swagata Kar
5Bioqual, Rockville, MD 20852, USA
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Hanne Andersen
5Bioqual, Rockville, MD 20852, USA
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Mark G. Lewis
5Bioqual, Rockville, MD 20852, USA
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Dan H. Barouch
1Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
6Ragon Institute of MGH, MIT, and Harvard, Cambridge, MA, USA
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  • For correspondence: dbarouch@bidmc.harvard.edu
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Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant has proven highly transmissible and has outcompeted the Delta variant in many regions of the world1. Early reports have also suggested that Omicron may result in less severe clinical disease in humans. Here we show that Omicron is less pathogenic than prior SARS-CoV-2 variants in Syrian golden hamsters. Infection of hamsters with the SARS-CoV-2 WA1/2020, Alpha, Beta, or Delta strains led to 4-10% weight loss by day 4 and 10-17% weight loss by day 6, as expected2,3. In contrast, infection of hamsters with two different Omicron challenge stocks did not result in any detectable weight loss, even at high challenge doses. Omicron infection still led to substantial viral replication in both the upper and lower respiratory tracts and pulmonary pathology, but with a trend towards higher viral loads in nasal turbinates and lower viral loads in lung parenchyma compared with WA1/2020 infection. These data suggest that the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant may result in more robust upper respiratory tract infection but less severe lower respiratory tract clinical disease compared with prior SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Footnotes

  • ↵* Co-first author

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 January 03, 2022.
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Reduced Pathogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Hamsters
Katherine McMahan, Victoria Giffin, Lisa H. Tostanoski, Benjamin Chung, Mazuba Siamatu, Mehul S. Suthar, Peter Halfmann, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Cesar Piedra-Mora, Amanda J. Martinot, Swagata Kar, Hanne Andersen, Mark G. Lewis, Dan H. Barouch
bioRxiv 2022.01.02.474743; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.02.474743
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Reduced Pathogenicity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant in Hamsters
Katherine McMahan, Victoria Giffin, Lisa H. Tostanoski, Benjamin Chung, Mazuba Siamatu, Mehul S. Suthar, Peter Halfmann, Yoshihiro Kawaoka, Cesar Piedra-Mora, Amanda J. Martinot, Swagata Kar, Hanne Andersen, Mark G. Lewis, Dan H. Barouch
bioRxiv 2022.01.02.474743; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.01.02.474743

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