Animal models of respiratory syncytial virus infection and disease

•Human RSV cannot be adapted to rodent species.•The pattern of infection seen in mice is unlike that found in the human host, infecting different cell types.•The cotton rat is a somewhat more permissive rodent model, susceptible to upper and lower airway disease as well as reinfection, similar to human subjects.•Bovine RSV is closely related to human RSV and produces a very similar disease in cattle.

The study of human respiratory syncytial virus pathogenesis and immunity has been hampered by its exquisite host specificity, and the difficulties encountered in adapting this virus to a murine host. The reasons for this obstacle are not well understood, but appear to reflect, at least in part, the inability of the virus to block the interferon response in any but the human host. This review addresses some of the issues encountered in mouse models of respiratory syncytial virus infection, and describes the advantages and disadvantages of alternative model systems.