Evaluation of the neurovirulence test for mumps vaccines

Neurovirulence tests in Macaca fascicularis using commercial preparations o f different vaccine bulks and a wild-type strain revealed that the test was unable to distinguish mixed from pure populations or a suitable vaccine fr om a related strain which has been shown to be associated with clinical men ingitis. However, the test was able to distinguish a wild-type strain from the vaccine strains successfully. The ability of the test to discriminate b etween acceptable and unacceptable seeds requires further examination. (C) 1999 The International Association for Biologicals.