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Review
. 2018 Jul 28;1(2):125-133.
doi: 10.1002/ame2.12017. eCollection 2018 Jun.

The battle against SARS and MERS coronaviruses: Reservoirs and Animal Models

Shu-Ran Gong  1 , Lin-Lin Bao  1
Affiliations
Review

The battle against SARS and MERS coronaviruses: Reservoirs and Animal Models

Shu-Ran Gong et al. Animal Model Exp Med. .

Abstract

In humans, infection with the coronavirus, especially the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and the emerging Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), induces acute respiratory failure, resulting in high mortality. Irregular coronavirus related epidemics indicate that the evolutionary origins of these two pathogens need to be identified urgently and there are still questions related to suitable laboratory animal models. Thus, in this review we aim to highlight key discoveries concerning the animal origin of the virus and summarize and compare current animal models.

Keywords: animal models; coronaviruses; reservoirs; the Middle East respiratory syndrome (canonical form); the severe acute respiratory syndrome.

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Conflict of interest statement

None.

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