Impaired polymorphonuclear leucocyte chemotaxis after influenza virus infection.

Polymorphonuclear leucocyte function was assessed in 13 patients with influenza by measuring phagocytosis of staphylococci and chemotaxis. Significant impairment of chemotaxis was shown. Subsequeuntly polymorph chemotaxis was found to be impaired in a group of volunteers infected with virus recombinants of A/New Jersey/8/76 but not in volunteers infected with a virus recombinant of A/Victoria/3/75. These results accord well with the in vitro effects of certain influenza viruses on polymorph function and suggest that interference with polymorph function may predispose to bacterial pneumonia after clinical influenza.