Characterization of subclinical ZIKV infection in immune-competent guinea pigs and mice.

ABSTRACT: An infectious agent's pathogenic and transmission potential is heavily influenced by early events during the asymptomatic or subclinical phase of disease. During this phase, the presence of infectious agent may be relatively low. An important example of this is Zika virus (ZIKV), which can cross the placenta and infect the foetus, even in mothers with subclinical infections. These subclinical infections represent roughly 80 % of all human infections. Initial ZIKV pathogenesis studies were performed in type I interferon receptor (IFNAR) knockout mice. Blunting the interferon response resulted in robust infectivity, and increased the utility of mice to model ZIKV infections. However, due to the removal of the interferon response, the use of these models impedes full characterization of immun

SUBMITTER: Westrich JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8513637 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature