Experimental transmission of infectious mononucleosis to monkeys, and the hemagglutination of erythrocytes treated with newcastle disease virus

Summary

The intramuscular and subcutaneous inoculation of Cynomolgus monkeys with bacteriologically sterile blood, suspensions of swollen lymph glands, and with throat-washings treated with penicillin and streptomycin, from patients suffering from infectious mononucleosis, and the inoculation with cerebrospinal fluid from a patient presenting symptoms of meningoencephalitis in the course of infectious mononucleosis, resulted in an experimental disease, which resembled abortive cases of infectious mononucleosis in man. The principal features of the experimental disease were a rise of thePaul-Bunnell titre, an increase of the percentage of mononuclear cells, a slight leucocytosis followed by a slight to moderate leucopenia, and sometimes a febrile reaction.

These results are suggestive for the viral etiology of infectious mononucleosis, and they indicate that the agent is present in the pharyngeal secretions. This may give an explanation for the method of spread of the disease.

Human O and chicken erythrocytes were brought in contact with the virus of Newcastle Disease, and cells treated in that way were agglutinated by 27 of 28 normal human sera to a titre of 1:64 or less. From 39 mononucleosis sera 70 per cent caused hemagglutination of N.C.D. treated human red cells and 46 per cent caused hemagglutination of N.C.D. treated chicken red cells to a titre of 1:128 or higher (maximum 1:1024). No correlation could be demonstrated between the titre of thePaul-Bunnell reaction and that of the N.C.D. treated red cells.