Abstract
Summary
The therapeutic effectiveness of six antiviral agents and certain combinations were evaluated under the same experimental conditions during systemic HVH infection of mice. The agents used were adenine arabinoside (ARA-A), cytosine arabinoside (ARA-C), idoxuridine (IDU), polyinosinic polycytidylic acid (In Cn), interferon, and phosphonoacetic acid (PAA). Treatment with ARA-A begun as late as 3 days after the virus infection was highly effective in preventing death. Interferon begun on Day 4 prolonged survival. In similar experiments, no antiviral effect of either IDU or PAA could be demonstrated, while therapy with ARA-C potentiated the infection. Of the drug combinations tested, none was more effective than the better agent alone. Unexpectedly a protective and nontoxic dose of ARA-A when combined with a nontoxic dose of In Cn resulted in a synergistic mortality in uninfected mice.
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