Surprisingly, we find that the increased susceptibility of TLR7 deficient mice to VSV neuroinvasion is not due to impaired viral control as VSV infection is reduced in pLN and iLN of TLR7−/− mice after s.c. virus challenge suggesting that TLR7 function is essential for early viral infection in the draining LN. The gene discussed is TLR7; the disease is viral infectious disease.