Anti-interferon antibody increases rhinovirus isolation rates from nasal wash specimens containing interferon-alpha 2

Isolation of rhinoviruses from nasal secretions may be delayed or prevented by exogenously applied interferon which is carried over into nasal wash specimens. In studies of interferon-alpha 2 treated volunteers with experimental rhinovirus infection, we determined that incorporation of antiinterferon antibody into collection broth significantly increased isolation rates (84% increase) and the proportion of monolayers positive for CPE (155% increase), as compared to plain collection broth.