A mouse injected with COVID-19 bit a researcher in April of this year, while they were conducting tests to better treat the disease, according to a statement from UNC.
The researcher followed a 14-day self-quarantine and did not develop any symptoms.
A UNC spokesman said the injected pathogen adapted for the mouse typically poses alesser risk of infection in humans.
Preeyam Patel, an NYU research scientist said mouse bites in clinical trials are not rare, and there are many underlying risks — including a risk of transmission through saliva and possibly air droplets.
“Sometimes mistakes do happen, if you’re gripping 200-300 animals a day, your hands can get tired. And animals are animals: They can act out, and it is possible to get bitten,” said Patel.
Patel said there’s currently not enough information about blood born transmission, but that it’s always a possibility.
“I just looked at some peer review papers and it’s really unclear whether blood born transmission does or doesn’t occur, as there is not an issue. I think that’s because we know it gets ripped through the air. We’re not 100% sure of it getting spread through the blood,” she said.
She also said the pace in which researchers are moving to develop a vaccine is normal.
“I wouldn’t say anything is being skipped over. I think right now all eyes are on vaccine companies from researchers in every field, and because of that there’s a lot of scrutiny for what’s going on and what the data looks like,” she said.
WRAL is told the incident at UNC happened in a secure facility where experienced, highly trained researchers wear significant personal protective equipment
Full statement:
Hello Leslie,
Thanks for the opportunity to respond about the lab incident and we’d like to offer clarifying information about the Independent Science News story.
The April 2020 incident involved exposure to a mouse-adapted SARS-CoV-2 strain through a mouse bite. This virus strain is used in the development of a mouse model system critically needed for the preclinical testing of new therapeutics for treating coronavirus disease, including COVID-19.
The incident did not involve the chimeric virus developed with National Institutes of Health funding, as suggested by the Independent Science News story. Also, there was no confirmation of the lab location.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Institutional Biosafety Committee provided information to the public, according to National Institutes of Health guidelines.
Mouse-adapted pathogens generally pose a lesser risk of infection in humans because the binding mechanisms for a mouse-adapted virus typically differ from those in a virus that infects humans. Mouse biology differs from human biology and a virus that has evolved to infect humans may not cause a comparable infection in a mouse – and vice versa. For that reason, mouse-adapted viral strains are often referred to as “attenuated.”
The incident occurred in a secure facility where experienced, highly trained researchers wear significant personal protective equipment and operate under stringent biosafety and biosecurity procedures and practices. Therefore, the likelihood of exposure in this incident was minimal.
Nonetheless, when a reportable incident occurs, protocols are triggered. The University implemented appropriate protocols following existing CDC guidelines and sent a full report to NIH. The researcher followed a 14-day self-quarantine and did not develop any symptoms. No infection occurred as a result of the incident.
NIH records show the agency fully reviewed the incident reports, engaged with personnel at the University to the degree the agency deemed necessary, and signaled no additional information was needed upon conclusion.
