Abstract
Summary
The inoculation of newborn ferrets with rubella virus by various routes resulted in chronic infection. Specific complement fixing antibody and neutralizing antibody persisted for at least one year after inoculation. Of 36 puppies inoculated by the IC route, 3 showed corneal cloudiness with microblepharon at 6 weeks post-infection. The IC inoculated puppies had the highest titer of virus in most of the organs examined; these animals also showed longer virus shedding, higher CF and neutralizing antibodies. There was no death or evidence of illness which could be attributable to the inoculation of rubella virus by any route. These findings are similar in many respects to those observed in congenital rubella in human infants. The suckling ferret provides a useful model for the study of the prevention and pathogenesis of rubella.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.