Ocular conjunctival inoculation of SARS-CoV-2 can cause mild COVID-19 in rhesus macaques

Wei Deng, Linlin Bao, Hong Gao, Zhiguang Xiang, Yajin Qu, Zhiqi Song, Shuran Gong, Jiayi Liu, Jiangning Liu, Pin Yu, Feifei Qi, Yanfeng Xu, Fengli Li, Chong Xiao, Qi Lv, Jing Xue, Qiang Wei, Mingya Liu, Guanpeng Wang, Shunyi Wang, Haisheng Yu, Ting Chen, Xing Liu, Wenjie Zhao, Yunlin Han and Chuan Qin ()
Additional contact information
Wei Deng: Peking Union Medical College
Linlin Bao: Peking Union Medical College
Hong Gao: Peking Union Medical College
Zhiguang Xiang: Peking Union Medical College
Yajin Qu: Peking Union Medical College
Zhiqi Song: Peking Union Medical College
Shuran Gong: Peking Union Medical College
Jiayi Liu: Capital Medical University
Jiangning Liu: Peking Union Medical College
Pin Yu: Peking Union Medical College
Feifei Qi: Peking Union Medical College
Yanfeng Xu: Peking Union Medical College
Fengli Li: Peking Union Medical College
Chong Xiao: Peking Union Medical College
Qi Lv: Peking Union Medical College
Jing Xue: Peking Union Medical College
Qiang Wei: Peking Union Medical College
Mingya Liu: Peking Union Medical College
Guanpeng Wang: Peking Union Medical College
Shunyi Wang: Peking Union Medical College
Haisheng Yu: Peking Union Medical College
Ting Chen: Peking Union Medical College
Xing Liu: Peking Union Medical College
Wenjie Zhao: Peking Union Medical College
Yunlin Han: Peking Union Medical College
Chuan Qin: Peking Union Medical College

Nature Communications, 2020, vol. 11, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is highly transmitted through the respiratory route, but potential extra-respiratory routes of SARS-CoV-2 transmission remain uncertain. Here we inoculated five rhesus macaques with 1 × 106 TCID50 of SARS-CoV-2 conjunctivally (CJ), intratracheally (IT), and intragastrically (IG). Nasal and throat swabs collected from CJ and IT had detectable viral RNA at 1–7 days post-inoculation (dpi). Viral RNA was detected in anal swabs from only the IT group at 1–7 dpi. Viral RNA was undetectable in tested swabs and tissues after intragastric inoculation. The CJ infected animal had a higher viral load in the nasolacrimal system than the IT infected animal but also showed mild interstitial pneumonia, suggesting distinct virus distributions. This study shows that infection via the conjunctival route is possible in non-human primates; further studies are necessary to compare the relative risk and pathogenesis of infection through these different routes in more detail.

Date: 2020
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DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-18149-6

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