Timing of exposure is critical in a highly sensitive model of SARS-CoV-2 transmission
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Abstract
Transmission efficiency is a critical factor determining the size of an outbreak of infectious disease. Indeed, the propensity of SARS-CoV-2 to transmit among humans precipitated and continues to sustain the COVID-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the number of new cases among contacts is highly variable and underlying reasons for wide-ranging transmission outcomes remain unclear. Here, we evaluated viral spread in golden Syrian hamsters to define the impact of temporal and environmental conditions on the efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 transmission through the air. Our data show that exposure periods as brief as one hour are sufficient to support robust transmission. However, the timing after infection is critical for transmission success, with the highest frequency of transmission to contacts occurring at times of peak viral load in the donor animals. Relative humidity and temperature had no detectable impact on transmission when exposures were carried out with optimal timing and high inoculation dose. However, contrary to expectation, trends observed with sub-optimal exposure timing and lower inoculation dose suggest improved transmission at high relative humidity or high temperature. In sum, among the conditions tested, our data reveal the timing of exposure to be the strongest determinant of SARS-CoV-2 transmission success and implicate viral load as an important driver of transmission.
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SciScore for 10.1101/2021.12.08.471873: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics Field Sample Permit: Studies were conducted under animal biosafety level 3 (ABSL-3) containment and approved by the IACUC of Emory University (protocol PROTO202000055).
IACUC: Studies were conducted under animal biosafety level 3 (ABSL-3) containment and approved by the IACUC of Emory University (protocol PROTO202000055).Sex as a biological variable Outbred, male, Golden Syrian hamsters of 90-101 g body weight were obtained from Charles River Laboratories and singly housed on paper bedding with access to food and water ad libitum. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Cell Line Authentication Contamination: Cells were routinely confirmed to be negative for … SciScore for 10.1101/2021.12.08.471873: (What is this?)
Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.
Table 1: Rigor
Ethics Field Sample Permit: Studies were conducted under animal biosafety level 3 (ABSL-3) containment and approved by the IACUC of Emory University (protocol PROTO202000055).
IACUC: Studies were conducted under animal biosafety level 3 (ABSL-3) containment and approved by the IACUC of Emory University (protocol PROTO202000055).Sex as a biological variable Outbred, male, Golden Syrian hamsters of 90-101 g body weight were obtained from Charles River Laboratories and singly housed on paper bedding with access to food and water ad libitum. Randomization not detected. Blinding not detected. Power Analysis not detected. Cell Line Authentication Contamination: Cells were routinely confirmed to be negative for mycoplasma contamination. Table 2: Resources
Experimental Models: Cell Lines Sentences Resources . Cells: VeroE6 cells were obtained from ATCC (clone E6, ATCC, #CRL-1586) and cultured in DMEM (Gibco) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (Biotechne), VeroE6suggested: JCRB Cat# JCRB1819, RRID:CVCL_YQ49)Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).
Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:While our data suggest a lack of sensitivity to humidity and temperature, we caution against over-interpretation of these data given the limitations inherent in our experimental system. A detailed understanding of the host, viral and environmental factors that shape transmission efficiency is of fundamental importance to efforts to elucidate the drivers of SARS-CoV-2 dynamics across spatial-temporal scales. This knowledge in turn is invaluable for refining strategies to interrupt transmission. Our data reveal that the timing of exposure is a potent determinant of transmission potential and point to viral load as the underlying driver of this effect.
Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.
Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.
Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.
Results from rtransparent:- Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
- No protocol registration statement was detected.
Results from scite Reference Check: We found no unreliable references.
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