Recent Advances in Animal Models of Zika Virus Infection

An infection by Zika virus(ZIKV), a mosquito-borne flavivirus, broke out in South American regions in 2015, and recently showed a tendency of spreading to North America and even worldwide. ZIKV was first detected in 1947 and only 14 human infection cases were reported until 2007. This virus was previously observed to cause only mild flu-like symptoms. However, recent ZIKV infections might be responsible for the increasing cases of neurological disorderssuch as Guillain-Barre syndromeand congenital defects, including newborn microcephaly. Therefore, researchers have established several animal modelsto study ZIKV transmission and pathogenesis, and test therapeutic candidates. This review mainly summarizes the reported animal modelsof ZIKV infection, including mice and non-humanprimates.