Characterization of Mouse-Adapted Marburg and Ravn Viruses in Inbred BALB/c and Outbred CD-1 Mice

Abstract

Marburgviruses cause severe hemorrhagic disease in humans, yet characterization of rodent models for pathogenesis and medical countermeasure development remains limited. Here, we investigated clinical course, blood chemistry, viral dissemination, and mucosal viral detection in inbred BALB/c and outbred CD-1 mice infected with mouse-adapted (MA)-Marburg virus (MARV)/Angola or MA-Ravn virus (RAVV) to further mouse model development. Regardless of virus or mouse strain, infection resulted in widespread viral dissemination in animals sampled up to 5 days post-infection. However, in animals followed to study end, MA-MARV/Angola caused severe disease and lethality in both mouse strains, whereas MA-RAVV caused mild or asymptomatic infection.