Comparison of SARS-CoV-2 VOC 202012/01 (UK variant) and D614G variant
transmission by different routes in Syrian hamsters
Abstract
Many SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern has been reported recently which
were linked to increased transmission. In our earlier study on virus
shedding using VOC 202012/01(UK variant) and D614G variant in hamster
model, we observed significantly higher viral RNA shedding through nasal
wash in case of UK variant. Here, we have compared the transmission of
both the UK and D614G variant by various routes in Syrian hamsters to
understand the transmission efficiency of the variant. The study
demonstrated comparable transmission efficiency of both UK and D614G
variants of SARS-CoV-2 in Syrian hamsters.