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Production of Pseudotyped Particles to Study Highly Pathogenic Coronaviruses in a Biosafety Level 2 Setting
Published on: March 1, 2019
[Variation of coronavirus tropism]
Astrid Vabret1, Fabien Miszczak2
1Laboratoire de virologie. Centre hospitalier universitaire de Caen, Avenue Georges-Clémenceau, 14033 Caen cedex.
Abstract:
Viral tropism is defined as the group of target cells which can be infected by this virus. Knowing viral tropism is knowing the target organ, and the animal species used as host. The variation of tropism allow for virus to evolve, cross species barriers, and infect a new host. Coronavirus family is a very large group of viruses which infect birds and mammals. These RNA viruses can rapidly evolve. In the history of coronaviruses, several examples of variations of tropism have been described, and have as consequences the emergence of a new infection (coronavirus associated with SARS, porcine respiratory coronavirus), or a new expression of the clinical presentation of the infection (fatal infectious peritonitis in cats and ferrets).
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