Observations on Erythrocytic Inclusion Bodies from Mice Infected with Rabies Virus

Abstract

Summary

Rabies was induced in Webster-Swiss mice injected intramuscularly with 0.1 ml of a mouse brain suspension of rabies virus, the titer of which was 10^-1.75. Peripheral blood films stained by Shorr's modified technique and Kleineberger-Nobel's method showed approximately 1.0% of the erythro-cytes to contain discrete intracytoplasmic inclusions. The highest incidence of these bodies appeared at postinoculation day 8, with most deaths occurring at postinoculation day 13. The specificity of these inclusions has not been established. While these inclusions are related to the development of rabies in the host, it has not been demonstrated conclusively by either fluorescent antibody microscopy or mouse inoculation that these bodies are due to infection with rabies virus per se.