Evaluation of Macaca radiata as a non-human primate model of Dengue virus infection

Dengue virus (DENV) causes a wide range of illnesses in humans, including dengue fever and dengue haemorrhagic fever. Current animal models of DENV infection are limited for understanding infectious diseases in humans. Bonnet monkeys (Macaca radiata), a type of Old World monkey, have been used to study experimental and natural infections by flaviviruses, but Old World monkeys have not yet been used as DENV infection models. In this study, the replication levels of several DENV strains were evaluated using peripheral blood mononuclear cells. Our findings indicated that DENV-4 09-48 strain, isolated from a traveller returning from India in 2009, was a highly replicative virus. Three bonnet monkeys were infected with 09-48 strain and antibody responses were assessed. DENV nonstructural protein 1 antigen was detected and high viraemia was observed. These results indicated that bonnet monkeys and 09-48 strain could be used as a reliable primate model for the study of DENV.