A FURTHER STUDY OF EXPERIMENTAL PAROTITIS

Abstract

A new series of inoculations into cats of the filtered sterile salivary secretions derived from cases of parotitis has been described. They confirm the observations made in 1915–1916 and extend them to include the epidemic parotitis occurring in our military forces. Incidentally confirmatory evidence of the filterable nature of the causative agent of mumps has been obtained. It has been determined that the saliva of man and of inoculated cats, and the inoculated glands of the latter animals, contain the filterable, infective agent. The lesions present in the inoculated organs conform to those described in our first publication. In addition, the lymph glands adjacent to the salivary glands on the uninoculated side were sometimes found to be swollen and to exhibit microscopic lesions. Probably the involvement resulted from salivary and lymphatic infection. The "virus" of parotitis was detected most readily in the saliva during the first 3 days of the disease, less easily on the 6th day, and not at all on the 9th day. It was detected also in the blood of patients showing marked constitutional symptoms, and in the saliva of a case of recurrent mumps at the periods of enlargement of the parotid glands, but not 2 weeks after the swelling had subsided. It was not detected in the cerebrospinal fluid.