“…For over a decade, S. hispidus remained the prime animal model for polio until supplanted by monkeys and mice, with mice requiring extensive adaptation of virus. Since then, the cotton rat has been extensively used as a model to study different aspects of infection by respiratory syncytial virus (Li et al, 2000;Malley et al, 1998;Prince et al, 2001;Prince et al, 1978;Prince et al, 1999;Rodriguez et al, 1997;Tang et al, 2001), influenza A and B (Sadowski et al, 1987), parainfluenza viruses types 1, 2, and 3 (Ottolini et al, 2000;Porter et al, 1991;Prince et al, 2001;Sadowski et al, 1987), herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) (Lewandowski et al, 2002), HSV-2 (Yim et al, 2005), measles virus (Niewiesk, 2001;Niewiesk et al, 1997;Wyde et al, 1999), as well as several serotypes of adenovirus (Brunori et al, 2001;Ginsberg et al, 1989;Ginsberg, Moldawer, and Prince, 1999;Rojas-Martinez et al, 1998;Tsubota et al, 1998;Wildner and Morris, 2002). Finally, cotton rats are also natural reservoirs of several viruses of importance as emerging human pathogens.…”