Diffusible viral interference during arbovirus plaque formation.

A radially diffusing zone of nonspecific interference was observed surrounding plaques of Western equine encephalitis virus. The increase in diameters of the zones of interference were linear and more rapid than increases in plaque diameters. These observations raise the possibility that viral-induced interference could account for the diminished growth of Western equine encephalitis virus plaques with time or even the initial formation of plaques. In addition, this system could be used as a model to study localized host defenses during early infection of solid tissues in vivo.