Antibody Development in Garter Snakes (Thamnophis Spp.) Experimentally Infected with Western Equine Encephalitis Virus
- 1 January 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene in The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
- Vol. 29 (1) , 112-117
- https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.1980.29.112
Abstract
Garter snakes (Thamnophis spp.) have been considered to possibly play an important role in the ecology of western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus. Serological tests (hemagglutination-inhibition, complement-fixation, neutralization test in mice, and plaque neutralization) to detect antibody in these reptiles following laboratory exposure to this virus have, in our experience, been unsatisfactory. A new test, the snake globulin precipitation (SGP) test, has been developed and we consider it to be reliable in detecting antibody in WEE virus-infected garter snakes. Antibody has been detected in these snakes over 4.5 years following inoculation with WEE virus. The SGP test should be a valuable tool in obtaining further information regarding the possible role of these cold-blooded vertebrates in the ecology of this important arbovirus.This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- Cytopathic Effect and Plaque Formation by Arboviruses in a Continuous Cell Line (XTC-2) from the Toad Xenopus laevisJournal of General Virology, 1977