STUDY OF THE THERAPEUTIC AND PROPHYLACTIC EFFECTS OF IMMUNOMODIFIERS IN EXPERIMENTAL INFECTIONS CAUSED BY MARBURG, EBOLA, AND VENEZUELAN EQUINE ENCEPHALOMYELITIS VIRUSES

Therapeutic and prophylactic effects of immunomodifiers ridostin, reaf eron, and polyribonate used alone and in various combinations were ass essed in experiments on guinea pigs infected with Venezuelan equine en cephalomyelitis (VEE) (strain Trinidad), Marburg (strain Popp), and Eb ola (M/C-8 variant of Zaire strain) viruses at doses 5 to 20 respirato ry LD50 through the respiratory airways. Urgent prophylactic simultane ous intramuscular and intranasal administration of ridostin protected the animals infected with Marburg virus (p = 0.1) and prolonged their life span by 2.4 days (p = 0.15). In Ebola infection a combination of ridostin and reaferon appreciably prolonged the mean life span. by 2.9 days (p = 0.04). In VEE ridostin alone or in combination with reafero ne appreciably increased the share of survivors; ridostin with reafero n and polyribonate notably prolonged the mean life spall of infected a nimals. None of these drugs or combinations produced an appreciable th erapeutic effect in any of the studied infections.