Herpes Simplex Virus Complement Fixing Antibody and Herpes B Virus Serum Neutralizing Antibody in Sera of Wild and Laboratory-bred Cynomolgus Monkeys

The result of the complement fixation (CF) test for the antibody to herpes simplex virus (HSV) in sera of the cynomolgus monkeys was compared with that of the neutralization test (NS) for the antibody to herpes B virus (HBV) in the same sera. Fifty-seven (74%) of 77 wild-originated monkeys were positive for HSV-CF, while 65 (84%) of the 77 animals were positive for HBV-SN. All of the 57 CF positive cases were also positive for HBV-SN. On the other hand, 30 (75%) of 40 laboratory-bred monkeys had neither HSV-CF antibody nor HBV-SN antibody. Remaining 10 of the 40 laboratory-bred animals were positive for HSV-CF. However, no HBV-SN antibody was detected in nine of the 10 HSV-CF positive animals. These results suggest that the HSV-CF test may be as satisfactory as the HSV-SN test as a practical measure for rough screening of HBV infection in the cynomolgus monkey in laboratories having no containment unit for handling HBV.