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Review

Use of the Aerosol Rabbitpox Virus Model for Evaluation of Anti-Poxvirus Agents

1
Infectious Disease Aerobiology, Microbiology Division, Tulane National Primate Research Center, 18703 Three Rivers Road, Covington, Louisiana, USA
2
Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Viruses 2010, 2(9), 2096-2107; https://doi.org/10.3390/v2092096
Submission received: 26 August 2010 / Revised: 2 September 2010 / Accepted: 8 September 2010 / Published: 27 September 2010
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antivirals Against Poxviruses)

Abstract

Smallpox is an acute disease caused by infection with variola virus that has had historic effects on the human population due to its virulence and infectivity. Because variola remains a threat to humans, the discovery and development of novel pox therapeutics and vaccines has been an area of intense focus. As variola is a uniquely human virus lacking a robust animal model, the development of rational therapeutic or vaccine approaches for variola requires the use of model systems that reflect the clinical aspects of human infection. Many laboratory animal models of poxviral disease have been developed over the years to study host response and to evaluate new therapeutics and vaccines for the treatment or prevention of human smallpox. Rabbitpox (rabbitpox virus infection in rabbits) is a severe and often lethal infection that has been identified as an ideal disease model for the study of poxviruses in a non-rodent species. The aerosol infection model (aerosolized rabbitpox infection) embodies many of the desired aspects of the disease syndrome that involves the respiratory system and thus may serve as an appropriate model for evaluation of antivirals under development for the therapeutic treatment of human smallpox. In this review we summarize the aerosol model of rabbitpox, discuss the development efforts that have thus far used this model for antiviral testing, and comment on the prospects for its use in future evaluations requiring a poxviral model with a focus on respiratory infection.
Keywords: rabbitpox; aerosol; aerobiology; animal model rabbitpox; aerosol; aerobiology; animal model

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MDPI and ACS Style

Roy, C.J.; Voss, T.G. Use of the Aerosol Rabbitpox Virus Model for Evaluation of Anti-Poxvirus Agents. Viruses 2010, 2, 2096-2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/v2092096

AMA Style

Roy CJ, Voss TG. Use of the Aerosol Rabbitpox Virus Model for Evaluation of Anti-Poxvirus Agents. Viruses. 2010; 2(9):2096-2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/v2092096

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roy, Chad J., and Thomas G. Voss. 2010. "Use of the Aerosol Rabbitpox Virus Model for Evaluation of Anti-Poxvirus Agents" Viruses 2, no. 9: 2096-2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/v2092096

APA Style

Roy, C. J., & Voss, T. G. (2010). Use of the Aerosol Rabbitpox Virus Model for Evaluation of Anti-Poxvirus Agents. Viruses, 2(9), 2096-2107. https://doi.org/10.3390/v2092096

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