SARS, SARS again, and MERS. Review of animal models of human respiratory syndromes caused by coronavirus infections

Abstract

Since the beginning of the 21th century, major outbreaks of human respiratory syndromes caused by coronavirus infections have caused more than million deaths on the planet. Despite the fact that the first wave of the coronavirus infection took place back in 2002, even now there is not any adequate animal model that would meet the needs of the scientific community for reproducing the pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, immunogenicity, development and testing of preventive and therapeutic compounds specific to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome, and Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose of the study is to provide relevant information on known animal models of human respiratory syndromes caused by coronavirus infections and to focus the reader's attention on their adequacy, which consists in the most accurate imitation of clinical signs and pathomorphological changes.