Abstract
The virus of vesicular stomatitis is peculiarly epitheliotropic (der-motropic) in the guinea pig: only the pad tissue of the dermal surface is uniformly susceptible. 1 , 2 , 3
Through the kindness of Dr. W. E. Cotton, samples were sent us of Indiana and New Jersey strains of virus propagated in guinea pig pads for several years. After 20 consecutive transmissions of the experimental disease in pads, both strains were filtered through Seitz' discs and were inoculated intracerebrally in respective guinea pigs.∗ The amount injected was 0.15 cc. of filtrate, derived from 1:10 suspensions of affected pad tissue ground in hormone broth at pH 7.5. Both the New Jersey and the Indiana materials produced a striking reaction.
From 2 to 5 days after injection, the animals exhibited first weakness, then paresis of both posterior extremities, which became progressively more marked and reached, within 2 to 3 days, the stage of complete flaccid paralysis. No other signs of disturbance, including fever, were detectable. About 60% of the animals died during the paralytic stage. The survivors either recovered partially, showing merely an ataxic gait, or were left with paralyzed legs. To the present, 6 brain to brain passages have been made in the guinea pigs. Practically all of the animals proved susceptible to intracerebral inoculations and, after several such passages, the action of the virus became regular.
Microscopic study of the organs removed at the height of reaction revealed changes only in the cerebrospinal system. The meninges and choroid plexus showed only invasion by few mononuclear cells. The brain itself exhibited general edema, slight perivascular mononuclear infiltration, and inconspicuous, diffuse, monocytic reaction, together with mild increase of glia nuclei.
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