CSIRO 368 virus was isolated from blood collected in the Northern Territory from a healthy cow and electron microscope studies showed that the isolate had rhabdovirus morphology. Fluorescent antibody studies and
complement fixation tests related the virus to bovine
ephemeral fever (BEF) virus. Neutralization tests in both suckling mice and Vero cells showed that the virus was not BEF virus.
Antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus were found in cattle sera from northern and eastern Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Antibodies were found in 16 out of 45 buffalo, some of which also had
antibodies to BEF virus. In contrast, none of the 419 deer tested had
antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus, although 142 of the same deer had
antibodies to BEF virus. No
antibodies to CSIRO 368 virus were detected in 16 goats, 54 horses, 10 pigs, 31 sheep, 25 kangaroos, or 14 human beings. Both CSIRO 368 and BEF viruses were found to be sensitive to
ether and
chloroform, but were not affected by the
DNA inhibitor
5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine, showing that they probably had the same type of
nucleic acid--namely
RNA. CSIRO 368 was also shown to grow to higher titres in BHK21 cells than in Vero cells. Temperature sensitivity studies at -20, 4 and 37 degrees C showed that the presence of foetal calf serum increased the survival time markedly at -20 degrees C, but only slightly at 4 and 37 degrees C. The virus survived the longest at -20 degrees C in the presence of foetal calf serum.