Morphological characteristics of the infection of animals with tick-borne encephalitis virus persisting for a long time in cell cultures.
The pathogenicity of the Soph-K strain of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus produced by the persistently infected HEp-2-Soph cell culture was investigated in monkeys, white mice and hamsters. The persistent infection of this culture with TBE virus has been maintained for 17 years. The Soph-K strain was shown to retain its pathogenic properties for mice of different ages and hamsters. Morphological examinations of the brains and spinal cords of these animals infected with the Soph-K strain revealed acute and subacute forms of encephalitis. Monkeys inoculated with the Soph-K strain intracerebrally showed an asymptomatic infection with the pathomorphological picture of subacute disseminated meningoencephalitis with a progredient course for 3 months of observation. This chronic TBE infection in monkeys offers an interesting model for investigations on progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system.
Morphological characteristics of the infection of animals with tick-borne encephalitis virus persisting for a long time in cell cultures. The pathogenicity of the Soph-K strain of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus produced by the persistently infected HEp-2-Soph cell culture was investigated in monkeys, white mice and hamsters. The persistent infection of this culture with TBE virus has been maintained for 17 years. The Soph-K strain was shown to retain its pathogenic properties for mice of different ages and hamsters. Morphological examinations of the brains and spinal cords of these animals infected with the Soph-K strain revealed acute and subacute forms of encephalitis. Monkeys inoculated with the Soph-K strain intracerebrally showed an asymptomatic infection with the pathomorphological picture of subacute disseminated meningoencephalitis with a progredient course for 3 months of observation. This chronic TBE infection in monkeys offers an interesting model for investigations on progressive degenerative disease of the nervous system.