Japanese B Encephalitis Virus in the Blood of Experimentally Inoculated Chickens.

Abstract

As a result of inoculating Japanese B encephalitis virus subcut. in chickens, virus can frequently be detected in the serum 24 hrs. to 7 days later. Even the subcut. inoculation of minute amts. of virus frequently resulted in viremia. In addition, it was demonstrated that, following the bite of 4 infected mosquitoes, infection with viremia occurred in the one chicken used. In these expts., when employing a "brain-adapted" strain of virus and 2- to 3-month-old chickens, the liter of virus in the serum was relatively low. It was lower using this agent, than in similar expts. with strains of St. Louis and Western equine viruses recently isolated from mosquitoes. In 2 test feedings on chickens inoculated with Japanese B virus, no mosquitoes became infected. Virus did not persist in the spleen of inoculated chickens over 8 days nor in the brain over 40 days (not tested earlier). These expts. do not conclusively demonstrate that the chicken can or cannot be a source of Japanese B virus infection for mosquitoes, but indicate that such a possibility exists.