Experimental Infection with Rubella Virus. I. Acquired and Congenital Infection in Rats

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Abstract
To establish an animal model of congenital infection with rubella virus, attempts were made to reproduce previously published reports of congenital infection of the rat. Intramuscular injection of the dam on the fifth day of gestation had an inconsistent effect on pregnancy and postnatal development. Direct intrauterine injection regularly caused a high fetal resorption rate, a decrease in postnatal growth, and eye abnormalities in 4.7% of the offspring. Antibody studies of the offspring failed to show persistence of antibody in the serum after weaning. Repeated attempts at isolation of virus in both offspring and dams were unsuccessful. Therefore, while rubella virus has been confirmed to have teratogenic potential in the rat, further efforts must be directed toward improvement of techniques of viral isolation before the rat may be accepted as a suitable model for congenital rubella infection.

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