Animal Models of Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are of prime importance as they wreak havoc among humans since time immemorial. Even though we have found cures against several dreaded diseases like plague, smallpox, rabies, and many more, evolving novel pathogens like COVID-19 are still a concern. Using the right animal model to find the cure as well as to understand the pathogenesis in detail is very important. This chapter discusses numerous animal models of infectious diseases, as well as the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing animal models in terms of similarities. Furthermore, the animal model’s responses to an infectious agent are explained in depth in comparison to the target species of humans. The animal models also act as an important tool for investigating the interaction between drugs and other non-targeted microorganisms present as commensals in the model for a particular pathogen. This chapter also looks into the ethical considerations and welfare issues in laboratory animals that specifically pertain to infectious agents studied using animal models. This chapter also examines the ethical considerations and animal welfare difficulties that arise when infectious pathogens are researched using animal models.