Protective effect of passive immunization on herpetic retinitis of newborn rabbits.

We studied the protective effects of passive immunization with virus specific antibody in newborn rabbits inoculated subcutaneously with type 2 herpes simplex virus (HSV-2). Newborn rabbits given anti-HSV-2 antibody intraperitoneally (IP) on days 0, 2 and 4 post infection had smaller herpetic skin lesions and reduced mortality when compared to controls. In addition, the IP treatment using this schedule reduced virus growth in the skin lesions and virus dissemination, so that it decreased the frequency of herpetic retinitis. When the IP antibody administration was started at 24 hours post virus inoculation, according to the schedule days 1, 3 and 5, there was less protection; larger skin lesions, higher mortality, and greater evidence of virus dissemination. Also HSV-infected mononuclear cells (MNCs) treated with anti-HSV serum resulted in a significant reduction in the number of infected MNCs. The results of these studies suggest that anti-HSV-2 antibody contributes to protection against HSV-2 infection of skin as well as eyes, probably by inactivation of the virus locally at the skin inoculation site, and by combating the hematogenous spread of HSV-infected MNCs as well as free virus to various organs including the eye.