Studies on the virus of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis in Trinidad, W.I. II. Serological status of human beings, 1954-1958.

Administration of VEE antiserum to mice in which infection of the central nervous system with the Trinidad strain of VEE virus had already been established resulted in early appearance of an inflammatory response in brain tissue. Perivascular cuffing, glial proliferation and lymphocytic infiltration into the meninges were manifest in the majority of such animals by the 3rd day after infection. At a comparable time, brains of mice simultaneously infected with VEE virus, but subsequently receiving identical amounts of serum devoid of VEE antibody, showed no histologic changes or only occasional minimal perivascular cuffing with or without a slight focal increase in glial cells. The effect was attributed to interaction between VEE viral antigen and antibody.