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Convalescence from prototype SARS-CoV-2 protects Syrian hamsters from disease caused by the Omicron variant

2021; Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory; Linguagem: Inglês

10.1101/2021.12.24.474081

Kathryn A. Ryan, Robert J. Watson, Kevin R. Bewley, Christopher Burton, Oliver Carnell, Breeze E. Cavell, Amy Challis, Naomi S. Coombes, Kirsty Emery, Rachel Fell, Susan Fotheringham, Karen E. Gooch, Kathryn Gowan, Alastair Handley, Debbie J. Harris, Richard Humphreys, Rachel L. Johnson, Daniel Knott, Sian Lister, Daniel Morley, Didier Ngabo, Karen L. Osman, Jemma Paterson, Elizabeth J. Penn, Steven T. Pullan, Kevin S. Richards, Imam H. Shaik, Sian Summers, Stephen R. Thomas, Thomas M. Weldon, Nathan R. Wiblin, Richard Vipond, Bassam Hallis, Simon G. P. Funnell, Yper Hall,

SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing

Abstract The mutation profile of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant poses a concern for naturally acquired and vaccine-induced immunity. We investigated the ability of prior infection with an early SARS-CoV-2, 99.99% identical to Wuhan-Hu-1, to protect against disease caused by the Omicron variant. We established that infection with Omicron in naïve Syrian hamsters resulted in a less severe disease than a comparable dose of prototype SARS-CoV-2 (Australia/VIC01/2020), with fewer clinical signs and less weight loss. We present data to show that these clinical observations were almost absent in convalescent hamsters challenged with the same dose of Omicron 50 days after an initial infection with Australia/VIC01/2020. The data provide evidence for immunity raised against prototype SARS-CoV-2 being protective against Omicron in the Syrian hamster model. Further investigation is required to conclusively determine whether Omicron is less pathogenic in Syrian hamsters and whether this is predictive of pathogenicity in humans.