[Experimental herpetic infection of the CNS with predominant involvement of the spinal cord]

Clinical, morphological, and virological characteristics of a model of herpes infection of the CNS with predominant involvement of the spinal cord, an acute ascending myelitis with primary demyelinization, are presented. The development of spinal cord lesions after HSV inoculation into the spleen was observed in different species of laboratory animals: mice, hamsters, guinea pigs, and rabbits; some animals (30%-70%) developed generalized infection with the involvement of the brain. The frequency of the spinal cord involvement was found to depend on the age of the animal and the dose of the virus-containing inoculum. Differences in the clinical and morphological manifestations of herpes infection were due to different mechanisms of herpes simplex virus spread in the body: either centripetally on the axons of the visceral nerves innervating the spleen into the thoracal cord, or hematogenic disseminations with virus penetration across the hematoencephalic barrier. The total duration of the disease was 3-12 days depending on the animal species.