AN ANIMAL STUDY ON TRANSMISSION OF HEPATITIS-B VIRUS THROUGH MOSQUITOS

Three gena of mosquitoes were fed with human blood infected with hepat itis B virus (HBV) artificially. When blood in the stomach was complet ely digested, mosquitoes mere used to bite monkeys Tupaia Belangeri. A month after biting, venous blood samples were taken from the monkeys to detect serum HBsAg, HBeAg, Anti-HBs and Anti-HBc. Among 29 test mon keys, 9 were HBV infective serum markers positive. In 4 of 16 test mon key liver biopsies, acute inflammatory changes were found with Hematox ylin-Eosine staining. In the hepatic cells, HBsAg and HBcAg were detec ted by immunohistochemical double-labeling assays, and HBV-DNA was als o positive by in situ hybridization in monkey liver sections. These re sults provided an evidence for the possibility of transmission of HBV through mosquitoes and suggest its epidemiological significance in mos quito infested areas.