Experimental infection of vertebrates with Ross River and Sindbis viruses, two group A arboviruses isolated in Australia.

Abstract

SummaryRoss River virus produced viraemia in rabbits, rats, bandicoots, marsupial mice and day‐old chickens, but not in adult fowls or pigeons. In contrast, Sindbis virus produced viraemia, illness and death in young chickens and viraemia in adult fowls, pigeons and one bandicoot, but gave no evidence of infection in rabbits, rats or marsupial mice. The results are interpreted as svipporting previous suggestions that Ross River virus may depend for survival on mammalian hosts, and Sindbis virus on bird hosts.