Evaluation of antiviral efficacy against human respiratory syncytial virus using cotton rat and mouse models

Infection with human respiratory syncytial virus (hRSV) causes a wide spectrum of respiratory disease in infants, young children, and elderly persons. No vaccine is available today and hRSV treatment options are limited. As a consequence, the treatment of hRSV infection remains largely supportive and new therapeutic options are needed to treat severe lower respiratory tract hRSV disease. Several animal models have been developed to study hRSV disease and evaluate novel therapies or preventive measures such as vaccines. However, each of these models reproduces different aspects of hRSV disease, and therefore, an appropriate model should be selected on the basis of the scientific question under investigation. In this chapter, we describe how cotton rats and Balb/c mice are used in our laboratory to test the in vivo efficacy of small-molecule inhibitors against hRSV.