Bussuquara, A New Arthropod-Borne Virus.

Summary and ConclusionA virus strain, An 4073, was isolated from blood of a sentinel howler monkey near Belém (Pará), Brazil. This virus yielded a hemagglutinating antigen without difficulty. By means of CF and HI tests with sera from mice immunized with repeated injections, this strain was shown as a member of group B of arthropod-borne viruses. Further studies, in which, in addition, single-injection immune sera and neutralization test were employed, gave evidence that the new agent could be easily distinguished serologically from 14 different group B viruses. Other group B viruses, such as Murray Valley encephalitis and louping ill, with which Bussuquara was not compared are so close to some of those studied that their inclusion in this investigation was considered unnecessary. The limited cross reactions obtained in CF tests between Bussuquara virus and other group B agents indicate a distant relationship. While the negative results may be attributed, in part, to low titers of Bussuquara sera and antigens, more potent systems would still be expected to show the same relative cross reactivity. In view of our results, it is concluded that the strain of virus studied constitutes a new, hitherto unreported arthropod-borne virus belonging in group B. The virus has been given the name Bussuquara.