World Reference Center for Arboviruses.

The identification of Rift Valley fever virus from Egypt and bluetongue virus from Australia had worldwide impact. Eighty-four other viruses were identified, many new to science or new to the geographic site of isolation. Techniques were developed to study arbovirus attachment to neural and non-neural cells, to demonstrate high salt HA with dengue virus, to show HA in mosquito tissues with WEE virus, and to determine pathogenicity and serologic reactions to bunyavirus RNA-reassortants. Broadly based surveys of arbovirus antibody in man were done with sera from Brazil, Guam, USA, Colombia, and the New Guinea region. SLE antibody was detected in western Connecticut animals. Arboviruses were not implicated serologically in Parkinsons disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or multiple sclerosis. Lyme disease was associated in distribution with Ixodes ticks but the etiologic agent was not isolated. The reference center distributed 566 ampoules of reference sera, viruses, and antigens during 1977 mosquito and vertebrate cell lines were also distributed. Author