Abstract
Five cytopathic rotavirus strains were isolated in MA104 cells from fecal specimens of pediatric patients with acute gastroenteritis. In these experiments the virus was treated with trypsin before inoculation and inoculated cultures were rotated in maintenance medium containing a small amount of trypsin. In neutralization tests on acute and convalescent sera from patients with acute gastroenteritis significant titer rises were shown with all the isolates. Rotavirus particles were shown by electron microscopy in cultures infected with the isolates. The isolates showed a close antigenic relationship with the Wa strain of human rotavirus and some antigenic relationship with the Lincoln strain of bovine rotavirus. The isolates were shown to be RNA virus, because their replication was inhibited with 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine. The infectivity of the isolates was stable at pH3, resistant to chloroform, ether and sodium deoxycholate, relatively heat-stable and were not stabilized in the presence of 1-M MgCl2.
