Natural and experimental infections of Japanese tree sparrows with Japanese encephalitis virus.

20 to 37 per cent of wild Japanese tree sparrows had neutralizing antibodies to Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). Sparrows free of antibodies were inoculated with 10,000 plaque-forming units of JEV. None of the birds became clinically ill. Virus could be detected in blood plasma during the first 3 days after inoculation but not thereafter. Neutralizing antibodies started to appear at 4 days after inoculation and the response was of variable duration, in some cases extending up to 200 days after inoculation.