Similarities and Possible Relationships Among Viruses of Psittacosis,Meningopneumonitis,and Lymphogranuloma Venereum

Abstract

Findlay, Mackenzie and MacCallum 1 have described a developmental cycle for the virus of lymphogranuloma venereum in the brains of infected mice and have pointed out that the developmental forms present many analogies to those exhibited by the causal agent of psittacosis. 2 , 3 More recently Rake, Jones and Shaffer 4 have studied the developmental cycle of the virus of lymphogranuloma venereum in the yolk-sac cells of the developing chicken embryo and have pointed out the quite amazing similarity in morphology and staining reaction between the respective developmental forms in the two viruses.

The viruses of lymphogranuloma venereum, psittacosis, meningopneumonitis, 5 and a virus causing atypical pneumonia in human beings 6 all produce meningitis after intracerebral inoculation, and pneumonia after intranasal inoculation in mice, and the lesions thus produced by each of the viruses are practically indistinguishable grossly or microscopically. After intradermal or subcutaneous injection these 4 agents produce granulomatous infiltrations in the skin of experimental animals.

Since the development of complement fixation tests for lymphogranuloma venereum, 7 and psittacosis, fixation with sera from venereally exposed but clinically non-lymphogranulomatous persons and certain lymphogranuloma venereum antigens has been observed. 8 False positive complement fixation reactions between psittacosis antigen and sera from syphilitic persons have also been reported. 9 , 10 It was noted particularly 8 that as far as complement fixation between the lymphogranuloma antigen and the sera of venereally exposed persons was concerned, there was no correlation with the results of the Wassermann test. Persons with gonorrhea who had a negative Wassermann reaction gave positive lymphogranuloma fixation in as high a proportion as did syphilitics. The possibility that subclinical infection with the virus of lymphogranuloma venereum might be the common factor in these cross reactions, and the other similarities of the viruses under consideration as noted above, led us to investigate the serological relationship of these viruses.