Hamster model for herpes simplex virus infection of the central nervous system

Adult Syrian hamsters were inoculated with a mouse brain passage of herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) along an intradermal and an oral route after local scarification. For both routes, clinical symptoms of central nervous system (CNS) involvement were seen in the period between five and 12 days post infection. Compared with the route via the buccal mucosa, CNS involvement by intradermal infection is easier to establish. With a minimum dose of 2 X 10(4) TCID50 virus via the intradermal route, an infection rate of 80% or more can be obtained reproducibly and detected simply by clinical observation without need of a survey of the humoral immune response. Scarification of the skin prior to inoculation was found to be essential for establishment of the CNS infection.