Tests in rufiventer and other marmosets of susceptibility to human hepatitis A virus.

Abstract

The rufiventer marmoset proved equally satisfactory to S. mystax for studies of human hepatitis A virus. C. jacchus, C. argentata, S. weddelli, and S. oedipomidas oedipus were not satisfactory. Livers of rufiventer marmosets produced satisfactory CR326 strain hepatitis A antigen for immune adherence tests both in amount and specificity. Rufiventer marmosets infected with human hepatitis A virus showed enzyme elevations and high titers of viral antigen in their livers as early as seven days after viral inoculation, indicating that a primary viral infection can cause hepatitis without need for a secondary autoimmune response to liver tissue.