Muscle destruction caused by coxsackievirus A10 in gerbils: construction of a novel animal model for antiviral evaluation.

•Gerbils up to the age of 14 days were fully susceptible to CVA10, and all died within five days post-infection.•CVA10 had strong tropism to the limb muscle, and severe muscular fibers necrosis and decomposition were observed.•A CVA10 inactivated vaccine could fully protected 14-day-old gerbils against a lethal challenge of CVA10.