Guinea pig herpes-like virus infection. I. Antibody response and virus persistence in guinea pigs after experimental infection.

Guinea pigs, experimentally infected with guinea pig herpes-like virus produced antibodies which were detectable by indirect hemagglutination (IHA), complement-fixation (CF), and neutralization tests. The IHA test appeared to be a more sensitive method than the CF or neutralization test for determining antibody response in guinea pigs immediately after infection, but the IHA method was not suitable for the detection of antibody in animals receiving small doses of virus. Antibody titers obtained by CF tests were generally higher than those obtained by the neutralization test, and they followed the same time course when individual animals were studied serially. Intracardiac inoculation produced the best antibody response in guinea pigs when compared with other routes of infection. Guinea pigs infected by the intraperitoneal, intranasal, or oral route showed rising antibody titers but the levels were low. Infectious virus was isolated from and persisted in all inoculated animals in the presence of antibody regardless of the route of inoculation. Recovery of infectious virus required cultivation or cocultivation of tissue cells containing virus. The administration of antilymphocyte sera delayed the appearance of IHA antibody but had no effect on antibodies determined by the CF- and neutralization tests.