Viruslike particles in liver in sporadic non‐A, non‐B fulminant hepatitis

Abstract

In a patient who followed the typical clinical course of fulminant hepatitis attributable to “sporadic” non‐A, non‐B (NANB) hepatitis and who finally received treatment by orthotopic liver grafting, three, apparently separate, viruslike agents (26, 45, and 80 nm) and cytoplasmic, reticular tubular structures (CTS) were identified in collapsed and regenerating areas of liver using electron microscopy. The 80‐nm particles present within vacuoles, together with the finding of intranuclear rods in association with the smaller particles (26 nm), are similar to those found in the nuclei of cells infected with several different arboviruses. The third type of particle, existing as 45‐nm spheres and rods, is similar in morphology only to some form of polyoma virus, which, hitherto, has not been reported as affecting the liver. Unlike typical polyoma virus, replication of the virus “cores” (25–26 nm) was extranuclear and appeared to be occurring in vacuoles. Although analysis for serological markers against a representative panel for arboviruses, flaviviruses, phleboviruses, arenavirus, and nairovirus was negative, an insect vector was implicated in the clinical history.