Occurrence of Nonspecific Virus-Neutralizing Properties in Sera of Some Neotropic Mammals

[摘要] It was found that the sera of certain species of marsupials and rodents captured in Brazil, notably Didelphis marsupialis , and members of the genus Oryzomys , which gave a positive neutralization test with yellow fever virus, also as a rule inactivated one or more of the following viruses, Japanese B, St. Louis and West Nile.It is believed that the antiviral activity of these sera is due to the presence of some non-specific virus-inactivating substance which is unrelated to previous infection with yellow fever virus, as experimental inoculation of this virus into the same species of animals elicits an immune response specific for yellow fever virus only.This non-specific inactivation of yellow fever virus is demonstrable by both the intracerebral and intraperitoneal neutralization test techniques.The virus inactivating substance is not destroyed by heat (56°C.), and while subject to periodic fluctuation in the blood of an animal, may be present in sufficient amount to inactivate a very high concentration of yellow fever virus.The practical application of comparative neutralization tests in epidemiological studies is discussed.

[学科分类] 生物科学（综合）