Pathogenesis of vaccinia (IHD-T) virus infection in BALB/cAnN mice

The pathogenesis of lesions produced by the IHD-T strain of vaccinia virus during vaccination of BALB/cAnN mice was characterized by virological, morphological, and serological methods. Infectious vaccinia virus was detected at the vaccination site for up to 16 days and was also found, to a variable extent, in lung, thymus, spleen, and liver between days 3 and 5. Viral antigen was detected at the vaccination site by avidin-biotin-linked immunoperoxidase cytochemistry, but only when viral concentrations were at least 10(5.0) log10 TCID per mg of tissue. The primary vaccination lesions were typical pocks characterized by sequential development of epidermal necrosis, vesicle formation, and ulceration and by dermal inflammation dominated by mononuclear cells. Type B inclusions were found in epidermis, but Type A inclusions were not seen. Seroconversion to vaccinia viral antigen was detected by day 8 with complement-fixation and immunofluorescence assays and by day 10 with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.