Summary
Skin infections induced in hairless mice with an Acyclovir resistant herpes simplex virus (HSV) mutant were not followed by the death of the animals, and the survivors had no evidence of latent infections in their sensory ganglia. However, mutant virus was detected in the ganglia during the acute phase of the infection. Mice inoculated with the mutant were fully protected against the fatal outcome of the infection when subsequently challenged with the relatively pathogenic parental virus. In addition the frequency of latent infections established after challenge was significantly reduced. Phosphonoacetic acid treatment of the primary mutant-induced infection abolished the protection against reinfection with parental virus. Acyclovir treatment of the primary infection with the mutant virus did not affect the protection against reinfection with parental virus. The results indicate that drug-resistant, latency-negative, HSV mutants are a promising starting point for the development of an attenuated HSV vaccine.
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This is publication No. 44 from the Cooperative Antiviral Testing Group of the Antiviral Substances Program, Development and Applications Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Bethesda, MD, U.S.A.
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Klein, R.J., DeStefano, E., Brady, E. et al. Experimental skin infection with an Acyclovir resistant herpes simplex virus mutant: Response to antiviral treatment and protection against reinfection. Archives of Virology 65, 237–246 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314540
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01314540