Abstract
Recently, herpes simplex viruses (h.s. No. 1) were isolated at 5 days and 6 months after delivery from an infant with recurrent skin vesicles and microcephaly. Because of the unusual nature of this illness, studies on the virulence of h.s. No. 1 and 4 other strains of h.s. viruses, isolated from cases of recurrent labialis or conjunctivitis, were performed and compared in mice and in plasma clot cultures of human fetal brain. The virus preparations used were produced and quantitated in primary rabbit kidney cell cultures (RK) and, to avoid laboratory attenuation, 2nd to 3rd passage materials were employed as inocula.
In albino Swiss mice, h.s. No. 1 was the most virulent strain producing typical neurotropic effects with exceptionally small quantities of virus. When levels of the other strains resulted in neither neurotropic signs nor death after intramuscular inoculation of mice, 100 fold less of h.s. No. 1 produced 96 % mortality.
In young plasma clot cultures of human fetal brain, h.s. No. 1 was again the most virulent strain. Compared to simultaneous quantitation of strains in RK cultures, 10 to 300 fold less h.s. No. 1 virus was required to infect brain cultures. One of the other strains showed a lesser increase in virulence for human brain relative to the other 3. No difference in virulence of any of the strains was noted in cell cultures of human amnion, diploid lung or green monkey kidney.
These data suggest that inherent differences in the neurotropic capacities of herpes simplex viruses may be a determinant in the production of central nervous disease after infections of man. (SPR)
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Alford, C., Snider, M., Stubbs, G. et al. 37 Studies on the Virulence of Herpes Simplex Viruses Isolated from Different Clinical Entities. Pediatr Res 1, 209–210 (1967). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196705000-00044
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-196705000-00044