ANTIVIRAL ACTIVITY OF A KEGGIN POLYOXOTUNGSTATE PM-19 AGAINST HERPES-SIMPLEX VIRUS IN MICE

The in vivo activity of the Keggin polyoxotungstate PM-19 [K7(PTi2W10O40).6H2O] was investigated against herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) in ddY mice. A single dose of PM-19 at 100 mg kg-1 administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) immediately after i.p. infection of ddY mice with HSV-2 offered 92% protection against an otherwise lethal HSV-2 infection. PM-19 was less or not effective ff given by any route other than the i.p. routs. When repeated doses of PM-19 were administered i.p. on day 0 (immediately after infection) and day 1 and 2 after infection, it proved protective over a dosage range of 0.1-50 mg kg-1 day-1, its ED50 (50% effective dose, based on the number of survivors) being 0.25 mg kg-1 day-1. Under these conditions, ACV was not effective even at doses up to 100 mg kg-1 day-1.