Use of Oral Swabs for Detection of Machupo-Virus Infection in Rodents

Abstract

Summary Comparative titrations of urine and oralswab specimens from experimentally infected Calomys callosus and golden hamsters showed that the swab was superior for detection of Machupo-virus infection. Thus the oral swab, combined with quantitative estimation of virus content by plaque assay in VERO cells, provides a more convenient method for determination of the status of both laboratory and feral rodent populations infected with Machupo and possibly other viruses of the Tacaribe group.