Excretion of Poliomyelitis Virus by Monkeys Used for Testing Material of Human Origin. ∗

Summary

Poliomyelitis virus was recovered from the colon contents of both rhesus and cynomolgus monkeys used in the routine testing of infectious human stools by means of nasal instillation, in addition to other routes of inoculation, when the interval between the last nasal instillation of infectious human stool and the first appearance of paralysis was 4 days or less. In none of 11 paralyzed rhesus monkeys in which this interval was from 5 to 18 days was virus found in the colon contents. The 4-day period following the last nasal instillation of infective human stools may be taken as the time required for elimination of virus swallowed by monkeys, when no local multiplication occurs. The present data indicate that monkeys, receiving human stool suspensions by the nasal or oral route, are a potential source of infection not only to their caretakers but also to other primates in the same animal quarters unless special precautions are taken to avoid fecal contamination. No evidence was obtained that poliomyelitis viruses of human origin can multiply in the alimentary tract of rhesus monkeys or be eliminated there by centrifugal spread from the central nervous system.