Experimental infection of guinea pigs with varicella-zoster virus.

Weanling guinea pigs are susceptible to infection with varicella-zoster virus (VZV). Animals inoculated intranasally or subcutaneously with VZV grown in fetal guinea pig tissue culture shed virus from the nasopharynx and seroconverted to VZV. Viremia occurred in some animals. Animal-to-animal transmission of VZV was observed. Infection of weanling guinea pigs with VZV should allow assessment of the pathophysiology of viral infection in immunocompetent and specifically immunologically modified animals.