Detection of infectious hepatitis A virus in blood factor concentrates by experimental infection of the New World primate Saguinus fuscicollis

Abstract

At present, the hepatitis A virus cannot be detected readily by cell culture techniques. However, the New World primate Saguinus fuscicolis is particularly susceptible to this virus. This paper gives details of the in vivo detection of hepatitis A virus in S. fuscicolis, and the method is used to show that a blood factor VIII preparation, suspected of being contaminated with hepatitis A, did not contain the virus.