Acute Hepatitis Associated with Mouse Leukemia

The etiological agent of the acute hepatitis encountered in weanling mice of the Princeton strain is a virus found in the liver, spleen, kidneys, heart's blood, urine, and intestinal contents of experimentally infected animals. Older Princeton mice and weanlings from four other strains (Swiss, Webster's BSVS, C albino) and Bagg) proved to be less susceptible than Princeton weanlings. The virus was demonstrable in Berkefeld V filtrates of liver suspensions and in supernatants after centrifugation at 10,000 G. In whole liver suspensions it was detectable in decreasing amounts through a dilution of 10(-7). Aureomycin and terramycin had no detectable effect on the activity of the virus in weanlings.