Fatal measles infection in marmosets pathogenesis and prophylaxis

Abstract

Moustached marmosets (Saguinus mystax) were infected intranasally with either of two low-passaged, wildlike strains of measles virus, strain Edmonston or strain JM. The infection resulted in 25 and 100% mortality, respectively, 12 to 14 days after infection. Clinical signs, gross pathological findings, and histology lacked the characteristic features of measles in other primates. A deficient immune response and widespread gastroenterocolitis appeared to be the main causes for the fatal outcome. Fluorescent-antibody staining detected large amounts of measles antigen in lymphatic tissues, the gastrointestinal and respiratory tracts, the salivary glands, pancreas, liver, kidney, and other visceral tissues. Live attenuated or inactivated measles vaccine proved equally effective in preventing fatal measles in marmosets. Challenge with live virus of animals which were primed 1 year previously with inactivated alum-absorbed vaccine resulted in a precipitous response, with a 100- to 1,000-fold increase in antibody titers. This vigorous booster response suggests the existence of a primary deficiency in lymphocyte cooperation in marmosets, which upon adequate priming is followed by extensive clonal expansion and antibody synthesis. Marmosets appear to be the most susceptible primate species to measles infection. They are capable of distinguishing differences in virulence of virus strains with a level of sensitivity not available in other animals.

Diseases of the Gastrointestinal System

“…Experimentally infected mustached tamarins generally succumbed within 2 weeks of infection [64]. Outbreaks have been reported in several species of callitrichids with up to a 100% mortality in some species [63,65].…”

“…Vaccination is a common practice in colonies of macaques and other Old World primates. Marmosets have been successfully vaccinated [64]. While routine vaccination does not appear to be a common practice, vaccination with the human measles or canine distemper-measles vaccine should be considered to protect colony health in an epizootic.…”

Viral Diseases of Common Marmosets

“…Measles virus, a morbillivirus of the Paramyxoviridae family, may cause serious epizootics with high morbidity and mortality in marmoset species [61,64]. Measles virus is rapidly spread between animals through contact, fomites, and aerosols, and humans are regarded as the main source of infection [61,65,66].…”

“…Clinical signs. While in mustached marmosets and several other NWM monkey species, the virus frequently targets the gastrointestinal tract and causes a necrotizing enterocolitis with hemorrhagic diarrhea [61,65], the predominant finding in naturally infected common marmosets is the characteristic pneumonia [64,67]. Common marmosets with measles infection become clinically apparent with lethargy, facial edema, and nasal discharge and occasionally develop an exanthema.…”

Replication of Clinical Measles Virus Strains in Hispid Cotton Rats

“…There is also an interest in the comparative pathogenesis of MV and other leukocyte-associated viruses (e.g., human immunodeficiency, cytomegalovirus, and Epstein-Barr virus) (21,22). Monkeys would appear to be most suitable for these studies since many of these primates develop disease manifestations similar to those seen in humans after experimental inoculation with this virus (23)(24)(25). However, their cost, limited availability, and restrictions on the use of many nonhuman primates for medical research makes them impractical for many studies.…”