Epidermal tissue as a primary site of replication of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus in small experimental hosts.

Abstract

When fresh urine from LCM tolerantly infected mice was applied to small areas of excoriated skin of guinea-pigs undiluted or diluted 10(-1), a high LCM infectivity developed in the local dermal tissue within 3 days and quickly spread to the lymphatic system. The skin at this site of infection became erythematous 10--12 days after infection and a few days later a rash was often seen in the hairless skin around the mammary teats. A viraemia was first detected at about 8 days after infection and persisted for at least 8 days, during which time a high infectivity titre in skin not only at the infection site but also distal to it suggested that there was a generalized active infection of the dermis. Infectivity in the tongue was simultaneously high and probably associated with erosions of the tongue tip seen a day or two later than the teat rash. In similar experiments in hamsters and rabbits, indications were again that lightly injured dermis was a primary site of virus replication. These observations should lead to the dermal route receiving greater attention as a potential route of infection of man when exposed to infectious excretions of reservoir hosts of arena-viruses.