Laboratory monkeys were infected with a deadly coronavirus strain in an attempt to find a vaccine to stop the path of the disease.
Rhesus macaques were infected with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-Cov) and then administered an experimental antiviral vaccine.
Scientists reported that over 2,400 animals have been infected with the disease.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control estimates that the particular strain has already killed 910 humans.
MERS symptoms include fever, cough and / or shortness of breath, with pneumonia, organ failure and septic shock often caused by the disease.
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About 35% of those who contract it die, the World Health Organization said.
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that the vaccine stopped macaques by contracting the disease when used preventively.
Scientists now hope to prove it with the COVID-19 strain of the disease, which is part of the same virus family.
Several clinical studies of remdesivir for COVID-19 are believed to be ongoing in China, while some humans are believed to have taken the experimental drug in an attempt to recover.
The macaque study had a group of primates, housed in a laboratory in Hamilton, Montana, who received the drug 24 hours before MERS-CoV infection.
Another group received the vaccine approximately 12 hours after infection and another control group did not receive any treatment.
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They were therefore observed for six days and those treated one day in advance showed no symptoms.
The animals that were treated after the infection suffered less lung damage than the control animals.
Scientists claim that the study results serve as support for further clinical studies of remdesivir for COVID-19.
That particular strain has so far caused 2,400 casualties worldwide, with the figure increasing every day.
In a statement NIH said: “MERS-CoV is closely related to the novel coronavirus 2019 (2019-nCoV) which has grown to become a global public health emergency since cases have been detected in Wuhan, China, at December.
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“Remdesivir previously protected animals against a variety of viruses in laboratory experiments. The drug has been shown experimentally to effectively treat Ebola and Nipah virus infected monkeys.
“Scientists indicate that the promising results of the study support further clinical studies of remdesivir for MERS-CoV and 2019-nCoV.
“At least two clinical trials of remdesivir for 2019-nCoV are ongoing in China and other patients with the 2019-nCoV infection received the drug according to a compassionate use protocol.”
MERS is believed to have originated in camels and was later passed on to people.
Transmission from person to person is considered possible.
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So far most cases have focused on the Middle East, but some have been reported in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The UK’s RSPCA estimates that thousands of monkeys, primarily macaques and marmosets, are used in research and testing.
RSPCA states, “In the UK, approximately 3,000 monkeys are used each year. Much of this use is to develop and test the safety and efficacy of potential human medicines and vaccines.
“Primates are also used to study how the brain works and in research related to human reproduction.”
In the United States, a record 71,317 monkeys were used in laboratories in 2010 and a similar number was tested in 2018 when 70,797 monkeys were used.
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