Transmission of hepatitis A virus among recently captured Panamanian owl monkeys

Antigenic relatedness of two strains of hepatitis A virus determined by cross-neutralization

Cell culture-adapted HM-175 (Australia) and PA-21 (Panama) strains of hepatitis A virus were compared in a cross-neutralization radioimmunofocus inhibition assay. The ratio of antibody titers achieved with two sera against the two viruses differed by less than twofold, indicating a high degree of antigenic relatedness between epidemiologically disparate strains of virus.

Radioimmunofocus assay for quantitation of hepatitis A virus in cell cultures

A new method is described for the quantitation of hepatitis A virus in cell cultures, based on the immune autoradiographic detection of foci of infected cells (radioimmunofoci) developing beneath an agarose overlay 14 days after the inoculation of petri dish cultures of continuous African green monkey kidney cells (BS-C-1). The number of foci developing in each culture was linearly related to the dose of hepatitis A virus (either HM-175 or PA-21 strain) inoculated. Focus development was prevented by prior incubation of virus with specific antisera, and the specificity of the radiolabeled antibody reaction was confirmed in competitive blocking experiments. This new assay method retains many of the advantages of conventional plaque assays for virus. Compared with existing end-dilution methods for the quantitation of hepatitis A virus, the radioimmunofocus assay offers greatly improved accuracy and comparable sensitivity, yet is relatively rapid and highly conservative of reagents.

Experimental infection of the New World owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus) with hepatitis A virus

Epidemiological studies have demonstrated the susceptibility of the owl monkey (Aotus trivirgatus) to hepatitis A virus, but have not shown an association between infection and histopathological or chemical evidence of liver disease. Therefore, 12 seronegative, colony-bred monkeys were inoculated intravenously with a fecal suspension containing either PA33 strain hepatitis A virus (a strain recovered from a naturally infected Aotus sp.) or HM-175 virus (recovered from a human). Viral antigen was detected by radioimmunoassay in the feces of six monkeys 6 to 17 days after inoculation with PA33 virus, and by 9 to 21 days serum aminotransferase activities were significantly elevated in each. Antibody to the virus developed in each monkey by 28 days after inoculation. Similar findings were noted in five of six monkeys inoculated with HM-175 virus, although the incubation period preceding aminotransferase elevations was somewhat longer (25 to 39 days). Liver biopsies obtained from the 11 infected monkeys demonstrated mild to moderate portal inflammation, as well as random areas of focal necrosis and inflammation extending outward from the portal region. These data confirm the susceptibility of Aotus sp. to hepatitis A virus and indicate that the infection of this primate provides a useful animal model of human hepatitis A.