Elimination of mouse hepatitis Virus (MHV) from a breeding colony using serological testing and isolation

Abstract

A colony of Peruvian mice backerossed onto C3H/He mlee was found by serologieal testing to be infected with MHV.
10 male and 10 female mice of the most recent backcross generation were selected and tested for antibodies to MHV. Nineteen animals were serologically positive. These were passed into a positive pressure isolator via a Virkson bath. MFl sentinel mice in a second isolator unit were exposed to dirty litter from the backcress from day 13 onwards. Blood samples were taken from the sentinels on days 27, 34. 48 and 76. The backcross mice produced their first litter on day 43. No serocenversion occurred in the sentinel mice, or in offspring of the backcross. Animals from the original colony tested at the same age and time as the backeross oilspring had seroconverted to MHV.