Viruria in dogs after injection of coxsackie B-1 virus into a renal artery.

Viruria has been demonstrated in many human and animal viral infections (1, 2). Preliminary studies in mice and rats by Schultz and Neva (3) established that virus passes from blood to urine within 30 minutes after intravenous injection under the conditions of their experiments. This viruria was referred to as "immediate viruria" and was considered to be distinct from the viruria that occurs during acute infections. In the present study, dogs were used in experiments that were technically too difficult to be carried out in smaller laboratory animals. Renal physiological and virological techniques were combined to study the mechanisms of virus clearance from the blood by the kidney and to establish the locus in the nephron where virus gains entry into the urine. Previous studies of a similar nature include those of Keller and Zatzman (4), who injected Bacillus megatheriumi phage and studied its renal excretion and distribution in the liver and spleen of dogs. Petrov (5) used injection of bacteriophage of Escherichia coli in dogs to establish clearance values for these virus particles. Although Schultz and Neva (3) were unable to determine the renal contribution to viruria in rats, they observed that the rat bladder is permeable to small numbers of virus particles. Our present studies demonstrate that Coxsackie B-1 virus (a small enterovirus) can pass rapidly