Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Outbreak Associated W

Authors: Clare A Dykewicz Virginia M Dato Susan P FisherHoch Marilyn V Howarth Gilda I PerezOronoz Stephen M Ostroff Howard Gary Lawrence B Schonberger Joseph B McCormick

Publish Date: 1992/03/11

Volume: 267, Issue: 10, Pages: 1349-1353

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Abstract

Objective  —After an employee at a cancer research institute was diagnosed with lymphocytic choriomeningitis an investigation was performed to determine the extent of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus LCMV infections among the institutes employees and to identify risk factors for infectionResults  —Seven workers 9 with definite LCMV infection LCMV IgG antibody titer ≥ 16 and one worker 1 with probable infection IgG titer = 8 were identified 10 overall seroprevalence All infected employees handled animals or animal tissues and were more likely than other animal handlers to have worked with nude mice Mus musculus P02 Among the 31 employees who worked with nude mice at the institute infected workers were more likely to clean the cages of nude mice P001 change their bedding P01 and change their water P001 The institute had been injecting nude mice with LCMVinfected tumor cell lines and had recently increased the nude mouse population and the duration of experiments These changes would have increased the LCMV burden at the facility and were temporally associated with the cluster of LCMV infections in employeesConclusions  —This LCMV outbreak the first reported since 1974 is the first associated with nude mice It illustrates the ongoing hazard LCMV poses in research laboratories Since the symptoms of LCMV infection can be nonspecific clinicians should consider this diagnosis in ill patients who report laboratory rodent exposureJAMA 199226713491353

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