Susceptibility of monkeys to human hepatitis A virus.

A stump-tailed monkey, newly caught and without antibody to hepatitis B virus (HAV), was successfully infected with human HAV. The following alterations were observed in the monkey's functions: (1) elevation in activities of serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, and its type 5 isoenzyme (electrophoretically the fastest moving); (2) development of antibody to HAV; and (3) shedding of HAV antigen in feces. The virus isolated from the monkey, designated the Hangzhou A-1A strain of HAV, was serially transmitted to two other stump-tailed monkeys. Thus, the stump-tailed monkey (Macaca speciosa) is susceptible to infection with human HAV.