Inhibition of Bactericidal Capacity in Mice after Administration of Newcastle Disease Virus

Abstract

Administration of live Newcastle disease virus to mice was followed by an enhancement of the infections caused by the injection of gram-negative bacteria. Similar findings were obtained with the use of other viruses. The evolution of the viable bacterial populations in the blood and the spleen suggested that an alteration in the phagocytic capacity of tissue macrophages was not responsible for this phenomenon. Impairment of the post-phagocytosis bactericidy, linked to the presence of live virus, is a likely explanation of the observed enhancement of the bacterial infection.