Abstract
Summary
Transmission of Friend virus, as indicated by development of Friend Virus Disease, occurred through successive generations following infection of adult mice, most effectively through the mother's milk as determined by reciprocal foster-nursing experiments. Transplacental transmission of virus did not occur as determined by reciprocal foster-nursing experiments and tests for infectivity of extracts of embryos from infected females. Transmission from infected males to normal females on copulation, or to offspring of females mated to infected males, was not observed. Conversely, transmission of virus to normal males mated to infected females did not occur. Urine was only slightly infective for newborn mice, but oral washings and feces were not infective. Air-borne and food-borne transmission of virus was unsuccessful; water-borne transmission was only slightly successful. Cage-contact transmission of virus did not occur. Maternal antibodies were also transmitted by infected females to their offspring (passive immunity). There was also evidence that some mice showed resistance to virus infection, which may be due to an actively acquired immunity.
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