Isolation of Herpesvimses from Trigeminal Ganglia of Man, Monkeys, and Cats

Abstract

Herpes simplex virus was isolated from the trigeminal ganglia of four out of 10 autopsied patients with no clinical evidence of herpes; the ganglia had been removed within 10 hr of death. The isolates appeared to be similar to type 1 virus from the points of view of antigenicity and cytopathic effect. As was the case when herpesviruses were isolated from the central nervous system of experimentally infected rabbits, relatively few of the tissue cultures inoculated with the ganglion cells yielded virus. A herpesvirus was isolated from the trigeminal ganglia of one of 10 squirrel monkeys, at least seven of which had antibody to this virus. No herpesvirus could be isolated from the trigeminal ganglia or the first three pair of sacral ganglia of 20 cats, at least half of which had been naturally infected with the herpesvirus of cats (feline rhinotracheitis virus), as indicated by neutralizing antibody in the sera of the cats.