Editorial: Unconventional Animal Models in Infectious Disease Research

Abstract

Beyond an in vitro setting, the use of a biological system is considered imperious to unravel the enigma of host-pathogen interactions, particularly those eventuating in an infectious disease scenery. In the past two-decades, the use of animal models, especially the unconventional ones, in studying infectious disease occurrence and progression has stemmed out. This rise in the use of animal models in research was greatly reinforced by the furtherance advancements in the field of genetics that has opened up for feasible genetic manipulation of both the host and the pathogen as needed throughout the course of conducted studies. Within this frame of reference, our launched topic envisioned to bring in research work that have used a broad spectrum of unconventional animal models to introduce pioneering findings in host-pathogen interaction studies. These findings will not only shed more light on our understanding of host-pathogen interfaces, but also set the foundation for innovative therapeutic regimens to control infectious diseases.