Resistance to adenovirus infection after administration of Bordetella pertussis vaccine in mice.

Treatment of mice with Bordetella pertussis vaccine rendered mice resistant to mouse adenovirus infection. The resistant state took at least 5 days to develop, and susceptibility returned to a portion of the test population 35 days after treatment. Transient resistance developed in congenitally athymic mice also. Treatment with a dose of 25 micrograms (dry weight) of B. pertussis vaccine protected approximately 50% of the test population. Vaccines prepared from several different strains of B. pertussis were capable of inducing resistance, and the induction of resistance was not dependent on the mouse strain used for testing. Cross-reacting antibodies capable of neutralizing the virus or protecting against a challenging infection were not induced by treatment with B. pertussis vaccine.