Host defenses in herpes simplex infections of the nervous system: effect of antibody on disease and viral spread.

BALB/c mice passively immunized with antibody to herpes simplex virus type 1 and challenged in the footpad with 10(5.7) plaque-forming units of herpes simplex virus type 1 were shown to be protected from neurological disease and death compared with control mice treated with normal serum or antibody to Sindbis virus. One hundred percent of untreated mice had virus recoverable from dorsal root ganglia by 48 h after infection. Whereas amputation of the infected limb at 48 h had no effect, antibody administration (resulting in titers of 1:8 and 1:16) was found to prevent acute neurological disease if administered no later than 48 h after infection. Antibody also restricted the extent of latent infection in the lumbosacral ganglia. The data provide strong evidence that antibody is effective in preventing spread of virus both in the peripheral nervous system and in central nervous system (spinal cord) tissue.