Problems in the Laboratory Isolation of Simian Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses and Isolation of the Agent Responsible for the Sussex/69 Epizootic

At least six epizootics of simian hemorrhagic fever have occurred at four different primate centers. Although these diseases could easily be transmitted to other monkeys of the Macaca species, difficulty has been encountered in isolating the causative virus in cell culture. The results of this study have shown that the isolation of simian hemorrhagic fever virus strains in cell culture is dependent upon the use of a susceptible MA-104 cell strain and that the ability of such strains to support the replication of these viral agents may vary. By using this information we have been able to isolate a viral agent in cell culture from materials derived from the Sussex/69 epizootic.