Studies on the Pathogenic Agent of Behcet's Disease

Report I. The isolation of the Behget's disease virus on the chorio-allantois of developing chick embryos

Abstract

In this communication a report is made on the isolation of the Behcet's disease virus. The results are summarized as follows.
(1) The new four strains of the agent of Behcet's disease were obtained from the foci (Matsumura strain: aphtha of the mouth; Fujiyama strain: ulcer of the sexual organ; Gotoh strain: ulcer of the sexual organ and the Vitreous body; Mori strain: thevitreous body) of the patients by the inoculation on chorio-allantoic membrane of developing chick embryos.
(2) The agent was inactivated at 56°C for 30 minutes.
(3) The agent passed readily through Seitz UK filter. By the routine staining and cultivating methods no other microbes have been found in the pathogenic material. This agent, therefore, is to be considered as a filtrable virus.
(4) The virus propagates in the fertile egg, especially on the chorio-allantois where it produces small pocks (pock formation form) and diffuse thickness of the membrane (diffuse form) and 10^-8.0 in chorio-allantoic fluid.
(5) Developing chick embryos yield virus titers as high as EID₅₀ 10^-9.5 to 10^-8.5 in chorio-allantoic membrane.
(6) The sera of such patients and immunized animals neutralize specifically the virus when tested by inoculation on the chorio-allantois of developing chick embryos.
(7) The neutralization tests revealed that this virus was not related to herpes simplex virus.
(8) The virus does not show positive pathogenicity to the mouse, but causes death in the guinea pig.
(9) The virus produces an iridocyclitis with hypopyon in rabbits.
(10) No characteristic inclusions have been found in the chorio-allantois infected with the virus.