Pathogenicity of mumps virus in the marmoset

The neurovirulence of two mumps virus strains was compared using marmosets. Marmosets were inoculated intravenously with the wild-type mumps virus Oda te strain, resulting in evident meningitis in 1 of 3 marmosets at each of t he weeks 3, 4, and 5 postinoculation, representing a total of 3 out of 9 ma rmosets. Nephritis, parotitis, pancreatitis, and tonsillitis were manifest in addition to central nervous system (CNS) sequelae. On the other hand, th e Jeryl Lynn vaccine strain did not induce histopathological changes in the CNS and multiplication of the Jeryl Lynn strain was distinctly lower compa red to that of the Odate strain in the marmoset. This is the first report t o describe the induction of meningitis in non-human primates after peripher al inoculation of a wild-type mumps virus, presenting findings useful for t he elucidation of the mechanism of infection and pathology of mumps virus i n the CNS. The distinction observed between the Odate and Jeryl Lynn strain s suggests the applicability of the marmoset model for the evaluation of an y neurovirulence potential of vaccine strains. (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.