Various
interferon inducers are known to elicit protection against lethal or infecting doses of certain viral agents. Because of the relatively high morbidity rate of
influenza and its seasonal occurrence, we wished to determine whether
statolon-induced
interferon might be effective in controlling this disease. Mice were treated intraperitoneally with
statolon and challenged with
influenza A(2) virus by the intranasal route. Although
interferon was present in the serum at the time of virus administration, no change in mortality rate was observed. There was, however, a significant increase in the mean survival time of treated animals. Similar results were obtained when Newcastle disease virus was used as the
interferon inducer. To determine the effect of the route of challenge, other mice were treated with
statolon or Newcastle disease virus and inoculated with mengovirus by the intranasal or intraperitoneal route. The results demonstrated that the treated mice were protected to similar degree against challenge by either route. It is suggested that the relative ineffectiveness of
interferon in protecting mice against
influenza is due to an intrinsic characteristic of the virus itself rather than the type of
interferon induced or the route of virus challenge.