Abstract
Ribavirin (l-β-D-ribofuranosyl-l,2,4-triazole-3-carboxamide) is a broad spectrum viral chemotherapeutic agent, demonstrating antiviral activity against a large number of both DNA-and RNA-containing viruses. Studies demonstrating the broad array of virus replication inhibited by ribavirin in cell culture have been carefully summarized by Sidwell (1,2) and most of the in vivo evidence in animal models has been summarized by Allen (3). In addition, Canonico (4) has summarized current results since the earlier publications in a review focusing on several aspects of ribavirin. Possibly the most significant recent clinical results with ribavirin have been obtained in two different studies; one conducted by Knight et al (5) at Baylor College of Medicine, and the other under the direction of McCormick (6) of the U.S. Center for Disease Control. In the Knight study, ribavirin was administered by small particle aerosol in an outbreak of influenza virus A/England/333/80 (HINI) infections in college students. The 14 randomly selected patients retained an average estimated 1.15g of ribavirin in 23 h of treatment over three (3) days. As judged by the highly significant reduction in height and duration of fever, reduction in systemic illness, and disappearance of influenza virus from the respiratory secretions, ribavirin had a highly significant therapeutic effect over the 17 control patients.
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© 1984 Martinus Nijhoff Publishing, Boston
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Smith, R.A., Canonico, P. (1984). Ribavirin. In: Becker, Y., Hadar, J. (eds) Antiviral Drugs and Interferon: The Molecular Basis of Their Activity. Developments in Molecular Virology, vol 4. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3804-8_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3804-8_15
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