Haemadsorption by Uninoculated Cultures of Monkey Kidney Epithelium

Abstract

SUMMARY A high proportion of the batches of monkey kidney cells commercially available in Australia carry a haemadsorbing virus, the properties of which are described. The virus appears to be identical with or very closely related to SV‐5. Since diagnostic laboratories usually rely on the haemadsorption technique for the isolation of the viruses of para‐influenza, influenza and mumps from the respiratory tract of man and animals, the presence of this agent may seriously complicate the interpretation of results. The problem can be partially overcome by the routine incorporation of SV‐5 antiserum in cell culture media. However, since SV‐5 appears also to cause human infection, it is not practicable to try to isolate this virus from man in tissue which already contains it. For this and other reasons discussed it is suggested that monkey kidney can no longer be considered the tissue of choice for the isolation of respiratory viruses and should be replaced by another cell type.