Studies on the Natural History of the Virus of Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis in Mice

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Abstract
Pregnant [female] mice inoculated with the virus of choriomeningitis transmitted the infection to their offspring, and these transmitted it to their descendants. Mice born infected harbored active virus for long periods in their bodies, and transmitted infection to normal mice placed in contact with them; the same was true of mice born uninfected and inoculated intranasally within 1-2 days after birth. Mice infected after reaching maturity, whether by contact with infectious mice or by inoculation, usually failed to transmit the virus to normal contacts, and seldom harbored demonstrably active virus in their bodies except for short periods. Such mice did not transmit infection to their descendants. In mice which acquired the virus in utero or by contact, the infection was generally inap-parent. Transmission from infectious mice to contacts occurred when factors of sex, urine, and feces were excluded, indicating that nasal secretions or saliva were probably responsible for sucll transmission. The results obtained during these studies tend, in general, to confirm those previously reported by Traub.