Comparative studies on experimental latent herpesvirus infections

Two different models of virus persistence in laboratory animals, that of herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) and that of murine herpesvirus (MHV), are described. While HSV-1 is harboured in a nonproductive form in the regional sensory ganglion of rabbits and mice, the persistence of MHV in mouse lungs and spleen is of a productive (dynamic) type. Since cultivation of kidney and trigeminal ganglion fragments enhanced the MHV recovery rate, one may assume that MHV persisted in a static form too, at least in some of the latter tissues. In contrast to HSV, MHV is predominantly disseminated by hematogenous route. So far no evidence of neural transmission of MHV has been found.