An epidemiological study on parainfluenza, DA and mumps virus infections in domestic animals in New England.

Recent studies have shown high levels of antibody to the parainfluenza virus group in human sera collected in New England and in other populations in various parts of the world. In view of the importance of animals as reservoirs of viruses affecting man, studies were carried out to assess the level of immunity to the parainfluenza, DA and mumps viruses in domestic animals (cows, swine, dogs, cats, lambs, and sheep) in New England.Antibody levels were determined by the haemagglutination-inhibition test. The results indicated that parainfluenza 3 was the most prevalent followed by parainfluenza 2 and parainfluenza 1; high levels were also found for DA and mumps viruses.A modified agar-gel diffusion test for detecting mumps precipitating antibodies was also investigated. Mumps-immune sera showed a reaction against concentrated soluble antigen. A comparison of the agar-gel diffusion method and standard serological methods, including complement-fixation, neutralization and haemagglutination-inhibition, indicated a significant correlation between the various techniques.