Duration of resistance to viral infection following administration of interferon inducers.

The duration of protection afforded by 5 known interferon inducers was deterw•ined. Groups of mice were given a single dose of statolon, maleic acid-divinyl ether copolymer (pyran), polycytidylic/polyinosinic acid (I/C), Newcastle disease virus (NDV), or bacterial endotoxin. These groups and an untrek,3d control group were uniformly challenged with MM virus. Survival data obtained during 20 days after infection revealed that the duration of protection varied with the inducer. The longest periods of significant protection elicited by the inducers were: endotoxin, 5 days; NDV, 8 days; I/C, 30 days; statolon or pyran, 55 days. These findings show that with the dosage used, the longest lasting protection was afforded by statolon and pyran.