Experimental Drug Shows Potential for Treating Zika Virus Infections
Virologists from the University of Leuven in Belgium have discovered that an experimental antiviral drug for treating hepatitis C may be effective in arresting or slowing the development of the Zika virus.
Virologists from the University of Leuven in Belgium have discovered that an experimental antiviral drug for treating hepatitis C may be effective in arresting or slowing the development of the Zika virus. While no vaccines or antiviral drugs are currently available to prevent or treat an infection, this development may offer new tools in efforts to stop the spread of Zika.
Recognizing that Zika is related to the hepatitis C virus, the researchers examined whether inhibitors of the hepatitis C virus might also prevent the multiplication of the Zika virus. Using a mouse study model, the team found that use of the experimental hepatitis C virus inhibitor “resulted in a clear delay in virus-induced symptoms.”
Published in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, the study, “The Viral Polymerase Inhibitor 7- Deaza-2’-C-Methyladenosine Is a Potent Inhibitor of In Vitro Zika Virus Replication and Delays Disease Progression in a Robust Mouse Infection Model,” opens up exciting new possibilities, as researchers can now start testing other promising vaccines and virus inhibitors against Zika.
