Immunological relationship between delta herpesvirus of patas monkeys and varicells-zoster virus of humans.

The Delta herpesvirus (DHV) which produced outbreaks of exanthematous disease in patas monkeys was shown to have a close immunological relationship to varicella-zoster (V-Z) virus of man. Immunization of rhesus monkeys with DHV or V-Z virus resulted in the development of neutralizing antibodies to both viruses and also in the production of complement-fixing antibodies to V-Z virus. Immunoglobulin M neutralizing antibody to V-Z virus was demonstrated in the serum of a rhesus monkey immunized with DHV, suggesting a primary antibody response rather than recall of antibody to a related virus. Convalescent-phase sera from human zoster cases had comparable levels of neutralizing antibody for both DHV and V-Z virus. Patas monkeys involved in an outbreak of DHV infection showed seroconversion to both DHV and V-Z virus by neutralization tests and to V-Z virus by complement fixation tests. The demonstration of the close antigneic relationship between DHV and V-Z virus suggests that DHV may be useful in an animal model system for studies on the latency and reactivation of V-Z virus.