[Search for inhibitors of West Nile virus among antibiotics]

The activity of 24 antibiotics was studied in treatment of albino mice with experimental encephalitis caused by West Nile virus. The antiviral activity of gentamicin and kanamycin was stated. The survival rate of the animals 19. contaminated with 10-100 LD50 of the West Nile virus and treated parenterally with gentamicin in a dose of 80 to 400 micrograms/mouse was higher than that in the controls by 29.5 to 100 per cent and depended on the drug regimen. The efficacy of kanamycin was lower. The chemotherapeutic indices of gentamicin and kanamycin amounted to 100 and 10, respectively. Since there are no schemes for chemotherapy of the infection caused by the West Nile virus and the respective vaccines are not available the use of the antibiotics and gentamicin in particular appears to be promising in the disease prevention and treatment.