ONCOGENIC RETROVIRUSES OF CATTLE, CHICKENS AND TURKEYS - POTENTIAL INFECTIVITY AND ONCOGENICITY FOR HUMANS

Reticuloendotheliosis virus naturally infects and cause lymphoid leuko sis in chickens and turkeys. We investigated whether it can infect/tra nsfect a variety of human cells in vitro. Successful infection and tra nsfection were achieved with limited replication of virus. These findi ngs, together with the knowledge that other oncogenic retroviruses of chickens and cattle, viz. The avian leukosis/sarcoma viruses and bovin e leukemia virus show similar infectivity/oncogencity in vitro for hum ans, and the recent demonstration of antibodies to avian leukosis/sarc oma virus and reticuloendotheliosis virus in human sera, suggest that these viruses may have a role in the etiology of certain cancers in hu mans. There is now urgent need to investigate this, particularly becau se recent epidemiological studies consistently demonstrate excess of c ancers in groups occupationally exposed to these viruses.