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. 2024 Feb 14;229(2):608-615.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiad408.

Ferrets as a Mammalian Model to Study Influenza Virus-Bacteria Interactions

Poulami Basu Thakur  1   2 , Victoria J Mrotz  3 , Taronna R Maines  1 , Jessica A Belser  1
Affiliations

Ferrets as a Mammalian Model to Study Influenza Virus-Bacteria Interactions

Poulami Basu Thakur et al. J Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Ferrets represent an invaluable model for the study of influenza virus pathogenicity and transmissibility. Ferrets are also employed for the study of bacterial pathogens that naturally infect humans at different anatomical sites. While viral and bacterial infection studies in isolation using animal models are important for furthering our understanding of pathogen biology and developing improved therapeutics, it is also critical to extend our knowledge to pathogen coinfections in vivo, to more closely examine interkingdom dynamics that may contribute to overall disease outcomes. We discuss how ferrets have been employed to study a diverse range of both influenza viruses and bacterial species and summarize key studies that have utilized the ferret model for primary influenza virus challenge followed by secondary bacterial infection. These copathogenesis studies have provided critical insight into the dynamic interplay between these pathogens, underscoring the utility of ferrets as a model system for investigating influenza virus-bacteria interactions.

Keywords: bacteria; coinfection; ferret; influenza virus; pathogenesis; transmission.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest . All authors: No reported conflicts. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

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