The U.S. National Institutes of Health has infected thousands of monkeys with a strain of coronavirus in attempt to find a vaccine cure for the illness.
According to United Kingdom newspaper The Daily Star, rhesus macaques have been infected with the Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS- CoV) and then given remdesivir, an experimental antiviral vaccine. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says that coronavirus strain is to blame for almost 1,000 deaths.
Scientists argue the results of the study support further clinical trials of remdesivir for COVID-19.
That particular strain has so far claimed 2,700 lives worldwide, with the figure rising every day.
The Daily Star reports that more than 2,400 of the primates have been infected with the disease by scientists in the United States.
leave these innocent animals alone, this is nothing to do with them and we have no right to use them for cruel experiments
Scientists are cruelly testing coronavirus remedies on lab monkeyshttps://t.co/j2fkITspCw
— Susan Metcalfe (@susanamet) February 26, 2020
Symptoms of MERS include fever, cough, and/or shortness of breath, with pneumonia, organ failure and septic shock often caused by the disease.
Researches found that the vaccine stopped macaques from contracting the disease when used as a preventive measure.
They are hoping to use it in trials with the now infamous COVID-19 strain of coronavirus, which is in the same family.
According to The Daily Star, several clinical trials of remdesivir for COVID-19 are said to be in progress in China, while some humans are thought to have taken the experimental drug.
The Daily Star described the research as follows:
The macaques study had one group of primates, housed at a lab in Hamilton, Mont., receive the drug 24 hours before being infected with MERS-CoV.
Another group was given the vaccine some 12 hours after infection, while the control group did not receive any treatment.
They were then observed for six days.
Results showed those treated a day in advance showed no symptoms.
The monkeys that were treated after infection had less damage to their lungs than the control group.
