Results of in vitro studies carried out by other investigators suggest that
insecticide emulsifiers enhance the replication of animal viruses possessing a single-stranded
RNA genome. Based on this observation and on epidemiological findings, it has been postulated that
insecticide emulsifiers and related compounds may be etiologically involved in
Reye's syndrome.
Reye's syndrome is an enigmatic pernicious disease of childhood causally associated with an antecedent
viral infection, usually
influenza, and putatively associated with exposure to environmental chemicals. The present study was carried out to assess the effects of emulsifiers on
infection in vivo with
influenza type A virus, a virus possessing a single-stranded
RNA genome, using the suckling mouse as host, and in vitro using a susceptible line of mammalian cells. Three coded emulsifiers retrospectively identified as
Atlox 3409F,
Toximul MP8, and
Triton X-100 were assayed at concentrations of 1.0, 2.5, 5.0, and 10.0 ppm. None of the emulsifiers enhanced the plaquing efficiency of
influenza A/PR/8/34 (HON1) virus in Madin-Darby canine kidney cells (less than a twofold increase), nor did percutaneous application of these emulsifiers at a concentration of 21 parts per thousand in
peanut oil enhance the lethality of
influenza A/PR/8/34 (HON1)
virus infection. Indeed,
peanut oil alone, and in combination with the emulsifiers, lowered lethality relative to mice that were treated percutaneously in parallel with physiologic saline.