Infectious Hepatitis (Homologous Serum Type) in Drug Addicts

1. Serum and stools obtained in the pre-icteric phase of one patient, and pooled specimens of the same materials from 5 patients with experimentally induced (by feeding) infectious hepatitis produced the disease in 10 out of 15 human volunteers following feeding or parenteral inoculation. 2. Pooled specimens of urine and nasopharyngeal washings from 5 patients, obtained in the acute phase of infectious hepatitis when virus was proven to be in the stool and serum, were not demonstrably infectious when fed and given intranasally to 6 volunteers. 3. Serum obtained in the midincubation period of one patient with experimentally induced infectious hepatitis failed to produce apparent infection when inoculated parenterally into 3 human volunteers. This is in contrast to the situation in homologous serum jaundice in which "virus" has been demonstrated in the sera of volunteers during the incubation period. 4. Serum and stools obtained from one patient and pooled specimens of stools from 5 patients 25 to 31 days after onset of experimental infectious hepatitis failed to produce apparent infection in 10 human volunteers. 5. No appreciable difference was detected in length of incubation period following the parenteral administration of widely different amounts of the same strain of "virus."

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PERIOD OF INFECTIVITY OF PATIENTS WITH HOMOLOGOUS SERUM JAUNDICE AND ROUTES OF INFECTION IN THIS DISEASE

Journal of Experimental Medicine ◽

10.1084/jem.83.6.441 ◽

1946 ◽

Vol 83 (6) ◽

pp. 441-447 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

W. Paul Havens

Keyword(s):

Acute Phase ◽

Infectious Hepatitis ◽

Convalescent Phase ◽

Homologous Serum ◽

Human Volunteers ◽

Incubation Periods

1. Pooled specimens of serum obtained from 3 human volunteers three-fourths through their respective 56, 66, and 70 day incubation periods of homologous serum jaundice produced the disease in 1 out of 4 human volunteers following parenteral inoculation. 2. Serum specimens obtained from these same 3 patients during the acute, pre-icteric phase of their homologous serum jaundice produced the disease in 3 out of 4 human volunteers following parenteral inoculation. 3. These same sera, proven to be infectious by parenteral inoculation, failed to produce disease when ingested by 10 other human volunteers. 4. Pooled specimens of serum obtained in the convalescent phase (28 to 32 days after onset) of these 3 patients failed to produce apparent infection when inoculated parenterally into 5 human volunteers. 5. Pooled specimens of feces of 3 patients obtained in the acute phase of homologous serum jaundice, when virus was proven to be in the serum, were not demonstrably infectious when fed to 6 volunteers. 6. These findings are slightly different from those encountered in a similar study with infectious material from cases of infectious hepatitis.

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