The biological response of infant nonhuman primates to a polychlorinated biphenyl.

Recently there have been numerous reports on lesions produced by the polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in various animals. However, there is a paucity of data on the effects of these compounds in primates, including man. The PCBs have been found in measurable amounts in human adipose tissue (1) and in human (2) and cows' milk (3), where they pose a source of contamination for infants. In 1968, over 1000 persons were affected following the consumption of PCB-contaminated rice oil (4). The ingestion of approximately 2.0 g of PCB caused nausea, lethargy, subcutaneous edema of the face, and acneform lesions in a large percentage of the exposed persons. Adolescents and young adults were affected most severely, and the symptoms and lesions have persisted in many of these persons for over 3 years. Infants born of affected mothers were small and had brown stained skin and eye discharge. Male school children who were exposed to the PCBs were below average in height and weight. Allen et al. (5,6) have recently fed PCBs to adult rhesus monkeys at a level of 300 ppm in the diet. These animals developed alopecia, facial edema, and isolated acneform lesions of