The Marin County agent is a 27nm virus-like particle which was associated with two separate outbreaks of nonbacterial gastroenteritis in northern California in 1978 by L. Oshiro. The agent is morphologically similar to, but serologically distinct from the Norwalk, Hawaii and Snow Mountain agents as assessed by immune electron microscopy (IEM) or solid phase radioimmunoassay (RIA) antibody blocking assay. One ml of a safety tested, bacteria-free filtrate prepared from a stool specimen from one of the individuals ill during the original Marin County outbreak was administered orally to seventeen adult volunteers. None of these individuals developed definite clinical illness. Two additional volunteers later received a 20 ml inoculum in order to enhance the probability of inducing illness by increasing the dose. One of these volunteers developed a gastrointestinal illness characterized by nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and malaise. Interestingly, this illness started five days after administration of the fecal filtrate and lasted 36-48 hours. Examination by IEM of several diarrheal stool specimens from this volunteer demonstrated a large number of 27nm particles. These particles were shown to be identical to the Marin County agent in IEM studies using acute and convalescent sera from the original outbreak. A preliminary survey of a series of gastroenteritis outbreaks by use of RIA failed to implicate the Marin County agent as an important cause of epidemic gastroenteritis. Recently, a biotin-avidin immunoassay has been developed for detection of antibody to the Marin County agent. It appears equal in sensitivity to the RIA and is being used to screen further outbreaks of gastroenteritis.
