Eliminating Potential Effects of Other Infections during Selection of Nonhuman Primates for COVID-19 Research

Comp Med. 2023 Jan 4. doi: 10.30802/AALAS-CM-21-000086. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTThe study of nonhuman primates (NHP) can provide significant insights into our understanding numerous infectious agents. The etiological agent of COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 virus, first emerged in 2019 and has so far been responsible for the deaths of over 4 million people globally. In the frenzied search to understand its pathogenesis and immunology and to find measures for prevention and control of this pandemic disease, NHP, particularly macaques, are the preferred model because they manifest similar clinical signs and immunologic features as humans. However, possible latent, subclinical, and opportunistic infections not previously detected in animals participating in a study may obscure experimental results and confound data interpretations in testing treatments and vaccine studies for COVID-19. Certain pathophysiologic changes that occur with SARS-CoV-2 virus infection are similar to those of simian pathogens. The current review discusses numerous coinfections of COVID-19 with other diseases and describes possible outcomes and mechanisms in COVID-19 studies of NHP that have coinfections. Due to the urgency triggered by the pandemic, screening that is more rigorous than usual is necessary to limit background noise and maximize the reliability of data from NHP COVID-19 studies. Screening for influenza virus, selected respiratory bacteria, and regional endemic pathogens such as vector-borne agen...
Source: Comparative Medicine - Category: Zoology Authors: Source Type: research