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Distemper virus disease in natural hosts : a model for morbillivirus pathogenesis Volume 16, issue 3, Mai-Juin 2012

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Authors
INRS-Institut Armand-Frappier, Université de Québec, Laval, H7V 1B7 Québec, Canada, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, Emerging Infectious Diseases Program, 8 College Road, Singapore 169857, Singapore

Morbilliviruses cause a severe and sometimes lethal disease in their respective hosts, which is characterized by a generalized immunosuppression, respiratory and gastro-intestinal clinical signs, and occasional neurological complications. This similarity in the biology of different members of the morbillivirus genus constitutes the basis for the study of canine distemper virus in its natural hosts as a model for the characterization of morbillivirus pathogenesis. In combination with the reverse genetics technology, which allows the production of recombinant viruses carrying specific genetic modifications, this model has made important contributions to our understanding of the mechanisms underlying morbillivirus immunosuppression, dissemination, and neuroinvasion.