PET imaging tracks Zika virus infection, disease progression in mouse model

For the first time, scientists have used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging to study brain inflammation following Zika virus infection in mice, according to a study. Traditional methods of infectious disease research using animal models provide limited information about disease progression until the study’s endpoint, when investigators can analyze tissues from those animals. Imaging studies allow longitudinal studies of the same animal during the course of infection.