Dhori virus (Orthomyxoviridae: Thogotovirus) infection in mice: A model of the pathogenesis of severe orthomyxovirus infection

After intranasal, subcutaneous, or intraperitoneal infection with Dhori virus (DHOV), adult mice developed a fulminant and uniformly fatal illness with many of the clinical and pathologic findings seen in mice infected with H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza A virus. Histopathologic findings in lungs of DHOV-infected mice consisted of hemorrhage, inflammation, and thickening of the interstitium and the alveolar septa and alveolar edema. Extrapulmonary findings included hepatocellular necrosis and steatosis, widespread severe fibrinoid necrosis in lymphoid organs, marked lymphocyte loss and karyorrhexis, and neuronal degeneration in brain. Similar systemic histopathologic findings have been reported in the few fatal human H5N1 cases examined at autopsy. Because of the relationship of DHOV to the influenza viruses, its biosafety level 2 status, and its similar pathology in mice, the DHOV-mouse model may offer a low-cost, relatively safe, and realistic animal model for studies on the pathogenesis and management of H5N1 virus infection.