1. Animal models for COVID-19
- Author
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Muñoz-Fontela, César, Dowling, William E., Funnell, Simon G. P., Gsell, Pierre-S., Riveros-Balta, A. Ximena, Albrecht, Randy A., and Andersen, Hanne
- Subjects
Medical research ,Medicine, Experimental ,Animal models in research -- Usage -- Varieties ,Environmental issues ,Science and technology ,Zoology and wildlife conservation ,World Health Organization -- Research - Abstract
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. The findings of a World Health Organization expert working group that is developing animal models to test vaccines and therapeutic agents for the treatment of COVID-19, and their relevance for preclinical testing, are reviewed., Author(s): César Muñoz-Fontela [sup.1] [sup.2] , William E. Dowling [sup.3] , Simon G. P. Funnell [sup.4] , Pierre-S. Gsell [sup.5] , A. Ximena Riveros-Balta [sup.5] , Randy A. Albrecht [sup.6] [...]
- Published
- 2020
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