Antiviral activity of chelated cobalt against influenza virus.

Schmidt and Rasmussen (Proc. Soc. Exptl. Biol. Med., 81, 244, 1952) have shown that Co++ ions inhibit the multiplication of influenza A virus in embryonated eggs and that such inhibition was reversed when either histidine, infection with 100 to 500 ID50 of virus exerted a definite but transient suppressive effect on both influenza A and B viruses alike. Since cobalt was found (Child, Science, 114, 466, 1951) to be less toxic when chelated with ethylenediamine