Katayama Y, Kohso K, Nishimura A, Tatsuno Y, Homma M, Hotta H
Department of Microbiology, Kobe University School of Medicine, Hyogo, Japan.
J Clin Microbiol. 1998 Jan;36(1):299-301. doi: 10.1128/JCM.36.1.299-301.1998.
By reverse transcription-PCR, measles virus (MV) mRNA was detected in the brain, kidney, spleen, liver, and lung tissues obtained from 23 (45.1%) of 51 autopsy subjects, with the detection rates of each tissue ranging from 8 to 20%. Sequence analysis revealed frequent mutations in the corresponding viral protein. These results suggest that MV mutants commonly persist in apparently healthy individuals.