Experimental respiratory syncytial virus infection of four species of primates

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Abstract
Four species of nonhuman primates were inoculated intranasally with 103.1 to 103.7 plaque forming units (pfu) of respiratory syncytial (RS) virus. Adult squirrel monkeys and newborn rhesus monkeys became infected and shed small quantities (peak titer 102.0 pfu/ml of nasopharyngeal swab specimen) of virus, but illness did not develop. Infant cebus monkeys aged 2 months became infected, shed 102.3 to 103.8 pfu/ml of nasopharyngeal swab specimen, but did not become ill. Chimpanzees aged 15 to 18 months shed a large quantity of virus, up to 106.0 pfu/ml of nasopharyngeal swab specimen and developed an upper respiratory illness. Chimpanzees are proposed as a possible animal model for future study of the immunopathology of RS virus desease and for in vivo evaluation of attendated live virus vaccine candidates.