PREVALENCE OF HERPESVIRUS-PAPIO-2 IN BABOONS AND IDENTIFICATION OF IMMUNOGENIC VIRAL POLYPEPTIDES

The prevalence of Herpesvirus papio 2 (HVP2) in several groups of capt ive and wild-caught baboons was determined by detection of anti-HVP2 a ntibodies in 133 sera of adult baboons, Over 90% of newly imported (wi ld-caught) adult olive baboons (Papio anubis) from Kenya and chacma ba boons (P. ursinus) from South Africa were found to have anti HVP2 tite rs, Similarly, approximately 85% of captive breeding colony baboons (P . anubis and P. cynocephalus) were seropositive for HVP2, Infected ani mals were generally easily identifiable by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay because anti-HVP2 IgG titers in immune animals were usually hig h (16,000 to 64,000), There was little variation in the relative react ivity patterns of individual HVP2-immune sera when tested against herp es simplex viruses 1 and 2, monkey B virus, H. cercopithecus 2, and HV P2, or against different HVP2 strains, Also, differences were not dete cted between reactivity of olive and chacma baboon immune sera, Analys is of the polypeptide specificity of immune sera by western blot ident ified four viral antigens that were consistent targets of immune sera, These antigens were the gB glycoprotein, a pair of unidentified glyco proteins of 80 to 100 kDa, the go glycoprotein, and a series of smalle r capsid proteins, Additional viral proteins were variably recognized by individual immune sera, The results of this study indicate that HVP 2 is a common infection of baboons; there is little antigenic variatio n among HVP2 strains; and there are several HVP2 antigens that represe nt consistent targets of the anti-HVP2 immune response of baboons.