THE USE OF NONHUMAN-PRIMATES AS ANIMAL-MODELS FOR THE STUDY OF HEPATITIS VIRUSES

Hepatitis viruses belong to different families and have in common a st riking hepatotropism and restrictions for propagation in cell culture, The transmissibility of hepatitis is in great part limited to non-hum an primates, Enterically transmitted hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A vi rus and hepatitis E virus) can induce hepatitis in a number of Old Wor ld and New World monkey species, while the host range of non-human pri mates susceptible to hepatitis viruses transmitted by the parenteral r oute (hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus and hepatitis delta virus) is restricted to few species of Old World monkeys, especially the chim panzee. Experimental studies on non-human primates have provided an in valuable source of information regarding the biology and pathogenesis of these viruses, and represent a still indispensable tool for vaccine and drug testing.