Isolation of Japanese encephalitis & West Nile viruses from peripheral blood of encephalitis patients
Kedarnath, N.; Prasad, S.R.; Dandawate, C.N.; Koshy, A.A.; George, S.; Ghosh, S.N.
Indian Journal of Medical Research 79: 1-7
1984
ISSN/ISBN: 0019-5340 PMID: 6327509 Document Number: 238894
An attempt was made to isolate viruses from the peripheral blood of 12 encephalitis patients during an epidemic at Kolar, Karnataka State (India) during Nov.-Dec., 1981. Plasma and mononuclear leukocytes (MNL) from encephalitis patients were inoculated into phytohemagglutinin (PHA) stimulated normal human MNL. Plasma was also directly inoculated into PS (porcine kidney) cells and suckling Swiss albino mice. Three strains of viruses (2 Japanese encephalitis-JE and 1 West Nile) were recovered by the former method while only 1 strain (JE) was recovered by inoculation into PS cells. Direct inoculation of plasma into suckling mice did not yield any isolate. This is the first report on isolation of JE virus from peripheral blood of encephalitis patients in India.