[Action of an anti-viral on the Australia antigen in patients with hepatitis A virus and in healthy carriers].

Patients with positive serum HBAg reactions were treated with Viramid (1-beta-D-ribofuranozyl-1, 2, 4-triazol-3-carboxamide) a new anti-viral drug. Of the patients involved in this study, 5 had chronic hepatitis or prolonged hepatitis and 12 were healthy HBAg carriers. Results obtained suggest that the drug had some action on serum HBAg titres with a decrease or negativation of HBAg serum titres in peripheric blood, the evaluation of which was immediately seen by employing the counterimmune electrophoresis technique.