[An electron microscopic study of viral infected peripheral mononuclear cells in epidemic hemorrhagic fever]

Ultrathin sections of peripheral blood cells from 7 patients of early stage epidemic hemorrhagic fever (EHF) were reexamined under transmission electron microscope. Virus particles were found in the cytoplasmic vacuoles of mononuclear cells from two patients. The morphology and morphogenesis of the matured virus were identical with those of Hantaan virus of the Bunyaviridae family. Additionally, abnormal aggregations of tubuloreticular structure (TRS) were sometimes encountered in the dilated cisternae of endoplasmic reticulum in the lymphoid cells regardless of whether there are virus particles present in the cytoplasm.