한국형 출혈열 병원체 Hantaan Virus의 항원 및 항체의 안정성에 관한 연구

STABILITY OF ANTIGEN AND ANTIBODY OF THE ETIOLOGIC AGENT OF KOREAN HEMORRHAGIC FEVER, HANTAAN VIRUS

The etiological agent of Korean hemorrhagic fever (KHF), Hantaan virus was isolated by Lee et al in Korea in 1976 for the first time, and the natural reservoir in the endemic areas of Korea was demonstrated as Apodemus agrarius coreae, The serological diagnosis of KHF has also become available by means of the immunofluorescent antibody technique. Hemorrhagic fevers with a very similar syndrome to KHF have been reported to occur as hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome in Russia; Songo fever or epidemic hemorrhagic fever in China; nephropathia epidemica in Scandinavia; epidemic nephritis or epidemic hemorrhagic fever in Eastern Europe; and epidemic hemorrhagic fever in Japan. Recently, serologic evidence for existance of Korean hemorrhagic fever in India, Alaska, Colombia and Greece was also reported. The Hantaan virus grows well in the tissues of Apodemus mice and in A549 cells derived from human lung cancer. But the stability of the antigen of Hantaan virus and immunofluorescent antibcdies against the virus were not reported yet. The following results were obtained in this report. 1. Hantaan virus antigen fixed with acetone was less active than non-fixed antigen with acetone. Antigen preparation was preserved effectively for 3 months at -20℃ and for 2 weeks at 4℃ but antigenicity of the virus lost rapidly in room temperature. 2. Merthiolate and sodium azide had no antivirus action to Hantaan virus and these materials could be used as preservatives. 3. The immunofluorescent (IF) antibodies against Hantaan virus was relatively thermostable and resistant to sodium azide and merthiolate. IF antibodies were preserved for 4 months at -40℃ and 1 month at 4℃ without loss of titer.