Contribution of experimental paradigms of viral infectious diseases to diagnostic pathology

Pathological analysis of experimental infections has been a useful method in virology. Host selection and route of virus inoculation are the most important determinants in experimental paradigms. Clinical and pathological correlations must be carefully determined in human and experimental infections. The cell tropism, cytopathic effect, and pathogenicity of viruses could be evaluated and defined by analysis of infected tissue. In addition, these infected tissues could be used as positive control for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization analysis in diagnostic pathology. This review addresses animal paradigms of rabies, influenza, and poliomyelitis as representatives of zoonosis and human-specific infection with respect to animal selection for experimental infections.