Comparative effects of an inflammatory reaction on the resistance of mice to bacterial and viral infections.

The induction in mice of a sterile subcutaneous granuloma exerted no influence upon the mortality following their infection with herpes type 1, murine hepatitis or encephalomyocarditis viruses. Attempts to reproduce the resistance -- which has been found to occur as a result of the granulomatous reaction, in the case of bacterial, fungal or protozoa infections and tumour invasions -- by varying the route and timing of the virus inoculation or the strain of mice have failed. We conclude that it is not merely through their inflammatory properties that some non-specific immunostimulating substances enhance resistance against viral infection.