Varicella-zoster virus infection of strain 2 guinea pigs

Weanling strain 2 guinea pigs are susceptible to infection with varicella-zoster virus cultured in embryonic guinea pig tissue. Animals inoculated by an intramuscular route develop mononuclear cell viremia that may persist for as long as three weeks. During the period of viremia, virus may be recovered from the nasopharynx and a variety of tissues. In addition, virus may be recovered from neural tissues in the absence of viremia, although infectious virus has not been cultivated from neural tissues after the 23rd day. The strain 2 guinea pig should provide an animal model to study the pathophysiology of infections caused by varicella-zoster virus.