The Takahashi strain (“street virus”) isolated by mouse and rabbit brains from a patient, who died of rabies after a prolonged incubation period, has been passaged intracerebrally through mice and rabbits respectively. It seems that the Takahashi strain has been converted into fixed virus after 24 passages through rabbits, and 44 passages through mice, from the viewpoint concerning the shortening of incubation period, the change of symptoms, etc. However, considering the response of rabbits to the intracerebral inoculation of the mouse-brain-passaged virus and the irregularity of “negrigeness”, it would be concluded that the Takahashi strain has been changed to fixed virus after about 70 passages through mice.
During the experiments of the Takahashi strain in mice a variant strain (Taka-men) was obtained unexpectedly. This strain was isolated from the brain of one of 30 mice, which had been intraperitoneally injected with the mouse brain suspension of the 4th passages 2 times at a 4day interval. The Taka-men strain differs from the Takahashi strain distinctly in the short incubation period in rabbits and mice, the high intracerebral infectivity in mice, and the absence of subcutaneous infectivity in rabbits. Although these characteristics seem to show a tendency to fixation, Negri bodies have been found in the brain of mice and rabbits from the first to 54 and 13 passages respectively, disappearing thereafter. It is to be considered that, therefore, the Taka-men strain seems to be a variant strain of fixed type drivel abruptly from the original Takahashi strain, and that it varied to fixed virus competely after several passages. Such variationphenomenon of rabies virus induced by the intraperitoneal injection in mice is quite unusual, and I cannot find a report on the similar phenomenon.
As above mentioned, I have demonstrated from one strain (Takahashi) of street virus two series of variant. strains; the one has varied to fixed virus gradually, the other has abruptly acquired the properties of fixed type of virus, being converted into fixed virus completely through a few passages.
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