Induction of diarrhea in colostrum-deprived newborn rhesus monkeys with the human reovirus-like agent of infantile gastroenteritis.

Diarrhea developed in five newborn rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) inoculated orally on the first day of life with the human reovirus-like agent of infantile gastroenteritis. Incubation period ranged from 2-5 days; virus particles were detected in stools in association with illness, and virus shedding lasted between 1 and 3 days. Virus derived from monkeys that developed illness following inoculation was infectious for other monkeys but did not induce diarrhea which could be associated temporally with virus shedding. Viral antigens were also detected in tissues of the grossly abnormal small intestine of an acutely-ill monkey. Serum antibody responses were demonstrated in two of the ill animals by complement-fixation and/or immunofluorescence.