The objective of this proposal is to continue to make available an established, continually growing resource for herpes B virus (Cercopithecine herpesvirus I), a national center for information access, rapid diagnostic assays, B virus-free colony monitoring, new isolate acquisition, drug efficacy testing, provision of standardized reagents and controls, and infection control monitoring in zoonotic outbreaks. The laboratory has over 10 years experience in assisting the Comparative Medicine community globally with respect to issues of identification and control of herpes B virus infections, having tested nearly 200,000 samples submitted to the resource and assisting clinicians and institutions in the management of five fatal zoonotic infections as well as 17 surviving cases.
The specific aims essential to the continued operation of this national resource center include: l) maintain a ready, trained diagnostic staff consisting of virologists and serologists that perform virological and serological testing for NIH AIDS animal model facilities as well as for occupational health services managing zoonotic exposures to herpes B virus on an emergency schedule; 2) isolate B virus from submitted materials collected from humans exposed as a result of injury or accidents while working with macaques or macaque cells or tissues; 3) identify B virus grown from submitted specimens using enhanced polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for multi-gene analysis along with restriction fragment polymorphisms for assessment of intra-strain variation, combined with phenotypic analysis by polypeptide analysis; 4) evaluate and standardize new, superior diagnostic technologies within the diagnostic arm of the laboratory as they are developed in the adjacent B virus research laboratory and other collaborating laboratories, e.g., enhanced antigen detection systems, rapid molecular analysis of novel strains, identification of drug resistant mutations, facilitation of easier testing for NIH's Regions Primate Research Centers and associated resources including Chinese and Indonesian macaques prior to and following importation; 5) disseminate updated information regarding B virus to veterinarians, investigators, and health care workers, including establishing network interactions that will educate as well as facilitate communication during emergency medical crises and meet the needs of colony managers of B virus negative animals. When emergencies strike, the resource will assist medical and scientific staffs together with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The proposed diagnostic resource, as part of the ongoing B virus basic research laboratory, will facilitate prevention and control of future B virus outbreaks and fatalities in both human and non human primates.
