COMPARATIVE SENSITIVITY OF VARIOUS TISSUE CULTURES FOR ISOLATION OF COXSACKIEVIRUS B3

Attempted virus isolation from fecal specimens using four different cell cultures in parallel: primary human embryonic kidney (PHEK) cells, human embryonic lung diploid (DHEL) cells, human cancer HEp‐2 cell line and African green monkey kidney VERO cell line. Of 266 rectal swabs obtained from children, ages 0 to 11 from a small town in northern Honshu during August 1966, 74 (27.8%) yielded viral isolates. These included 58 coxsackievirus B3, 7 coxsackievirus B4, 3 echovirus 6, 3 adenoviruses, and 3 unidentified isolates. Of special interest is that practically no clinical disease was associated with this evident outbreak of coxsackievirus B3 infection. Our results provide evidence that HEp‐2 and VERO cells are most sensitive, PHEK cells are less sensitive, DHEL cells are the least sensitive for isolation of coxsackievirus B3, isolation rates were 19.2, 12.8, and 7.5%, respectively. Sensitivity differences were revealed by time of appearance and rapidity of progress of the cytopathic effect, and the infectious titer attained in the passages of the isolates. © jointly owned by Japanese society for Bacteriology and Society of Japanese Virologists