Pathogenic and immunologic properties of two new members of the Columbia SK group of viruses

Abstract

The members of the Columbia SK group of viruses (Columbia SK, MM, EMC, Mengo virus) are closely related with regard to their pathogenic and immunologic properties. They are highy pathogenic for rodents (mice, cotton rats, hamsters, guinea pigs) following inoculation by intracerebral as well as by peripheral route. The inoculation results in a fatal encephalomyelitis, which may be accompanied by myocarditis, or, foliowing intramuscular inoculation, by myositis (Rustigian and Pappenheimer I6. ) As has been shown by Jungeblut 1~ and by Verlinde et al. 21, eynomolgus monkeys are also susceptible to intracerebrai and peripheral inoculation, which results in ~ disease clinically and histologically resembling experimental poliomyelitis with a short incubation period. The experimental disease, however, is transmissible from monkey to monkey only in a few passages, and infectivity of the monkey-passage virus for mice, and haemagglutinating ability fall rapidly.The immunologic relationship between the viruses of the Columbia SK group has frequently been shown by cross-neutralization (Jungeblut 9, Schatz and Plager is, Dic]c 4, Warren, Smadel and Russ 25, Olitz/cy and Yager r~, de Baan~).