Related Experiment Videos
Filovirus contamination of cell cultures
C J Peters1, P B Jahrling, T G Ksiazek
1Disease Assessment Division, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, Fort Detrick, Frederick, MD 21701-5011.
Developments in Biological Standardization
|January 1, 1992
Summary
Filoviruses, including Marburg and Ebola, pose risks despite rare transmission. Research is needed to understand their spread, hosts, and detection methods for public health safety.
Area of Science:
- Virology
- Emerging Infectious Diseases
Background:
- Filoviruses, Marburg virus (1967) and Ebola virus (1989), are newly recognized viral families.
- Initial Marburg virus outbreak linked to imported African green monkeys; subsequent Ebola-related virus linked to Philippine cynomolgus macaques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To highlight the potential risks of filoviruses despite their rarity.
- To emphasize the need for further research into filovirus strains, hosts, and antibody specificity.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and identification of filoviruses from infected primates.
- Detection of filoviruses using antibody staining and electron microscopy.
- Serological studies to detect antibodies in primates.
Main Results:
- An Ebola-related virus was isolated from quarantined cynomolgus macaques in 1989.
- Human infections during the 1989 outbreak were asymptomatic.
- Antibodies reactive to Ebola viruses were found in various Old World primates, including those colonized in the U.S.
Conclusions:
- Filoviruses present a significant, yet poorly understood, threat.
- Further research is crucial to understand filovirus epidemiology, host range, and detection.
- Occult contamination is a possibility due to slow or absent cytopathogenic effects in cell cultures.