Hemolytic Activity of a Togavirus, Getah*

A purified toga-alphavirus, Getah (GET), showed optimal hemolytic activity for one-day-old chick red blood cells when incubated at 37 C for 120 min at pH 6.2. Experimental data obtained from various angles, such as pH dependency, inhibition by virus-specific antiserum and by concanavalin A, indicated that the hemolysis was a property of the virus particle itself. Although the mechanism of hemolysis by togaviruses has not been known, our results indicated that viral lipids may participate in this activity since the hemolytic activity was impaired by delipidation procedures.