Occurrence of Poliomyelitis Virus in Autopsies, Patients, and Contacts

Abstract

Attempts have been made in the studies on poliomyelitis conducted in this laboratory in recent years, to recover virus from autopsies, from patients, and from contacts. I n the earlier work efforts were concentrated on isolation of virus from cord and medulla of human autopsies and cerebrospinal fluid and nasal washings of patients. During the last 2 years other tissues, colon contents, and urine of autopsies and stools of patients and contacts also have been studied. The present report summarizes this work from the time of its beginning in July, 1934, to the close of last season, December, 1940. Materials and MethodsTissue.--The tissues listed in Table I were collected from autopsies under aseptic conditions and preserved in sterile 50 per cent glycerol, with buffered saline at 4°C. They were prepared for injection by grinding in a sterile mortar, then adding buffered saline to make a 10 per cent suspension. The suspension was centrifuged and 1 cc. of the supernatant fluid was injected intracerebrally and 3 cc. intraperitoneally, usually into Macacus mulatta. In a few instances M. irus was used, and appeared to be just as susceptible as M. raulatta.Cerebrospinal Fluid.--Several methods were employed in inoculating spinal fluids.Individual fluids were injected into monkeys either by the intracerebral or intrathecat route, while a simultaneous intraperitoneal inoculation was made with fluids that were in excess. In certain instances the fluids were pooled before injection. Swiss mice also were injected with the same fluids in an attempt to recover other neurotropic viruses.Nasal Washings.--Nasal washings were treated in the following several ways before injection: 1. Treated with 0.5 per cent phenol to destroy the bacteria, following either centrifugation or vacuum distillation.2. Filtered through Berkefeld V filters. 3. Placed in 50 per cent glycerol with saline an d kept in the ice box at 4°C. for 3 days.

The Isolation of Poliomyelitis Virus From Human Extra-Neural Sources. I. Comparison of Virus Content of Pharyngeal Swabs, Oropharyngeal Washings, and Stools of Patients1

“…No virus was found in the nasal or oral secretions, while 9 of the 23 stool specimens were positive for virus. Also using autopsy material, Kessel and his associates (18) found virus in the tonsils of 3 of 6 It was believed therefore that a systematic series of tests for the presence of virus in the pharynx and a record of its persistence there as compared with its elimination in the stools in the same patients might supply information concerning the relative importance of the two sites as sources of recoverable virus. This is the purpose of the study reported in the first paper of the series.…”