Prophylaxis of Rift Valley fever with antiviral drugs, immune serum, an interferon inducer, and a macrophage activator

A New Mouse Model Reveals a Critical Role for Host Innate Immunity in Resistance to Rift Valley Fever

“…with ZH548 (35) (data not shown). Moreover, treatment with an IFN inducer is efficacious in preventing the disease in mice (36). Our analyses further revealed that MBT/Pas MEFs elicited a weak and only partial innate-immunity response to viral infection compared with BALB/cByJ MEFs.…”

Using a Field Quantitative Real-Time PCR Test To Rapidly Identify Highly Viremic Rift Valley Fever Cases

“…These findings have considerable practical relevance because the qRT-PCR test can be performed quickly in a field-based laboratory setting, potentially enabling health officials to target those with poor prognosis for special intensive clinical management. Presently, the antiviral drug ribavirin is listed as the drug of choice for RVF by the World Health Organization because if has been shown to suppress viremia in RVF virusinfected rhesus monkeys and to suppress RVF virus yields in cell cultures (21). However, ribavirin has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in part because it can cause serious side effects, including bronchospasms, anemia, neurotoxicity, and gastrointestinal effects (10,25).…”

“…However, ribavirin has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, in part because it can cause serious side effects, including bronchospasms, anemia, neurotoxicity, and gastrointestinal effects (10,25). Hyperimmune serum and interferon-stimulating drugs have also been suggested for use in acute severe RVF cases, but they are expensive and/or not readily available (21). Because of these drawbacks, identifying cases with high risk of death is critical for ensuring appropriate case management.…”

Development of FGI-106 as a broad-spectrum therapeutic with activity against members of the family Bunyaviridae

“…24 Currently, no antivirals have been approved to treat Bunyavirus infection in humans; therefore, supportive care is the primary source of treatment and intensive care is often required. The use of ribavirin has proven effective against RVFV in rodent and non-human primate models, 7 but has not been thoroughly evaluated to treat RVFV infection in humans. During the 2000 Saudi Arabia outbreak, a small clinical trial evaluating the effectiveness of ribavirin to treat severe RVFV infection suggested an increase in the incidence of encephalitis in ribavirin-treated cases; however, these results are inconclusive (P. Rollin, presented at the Treatment of Viral Hemorrhagic Fever Workshop, Bethesda, MD, February 24 to 27,2007).…”

“…Ribavirin, a nucleoside analog, has antiviral activity against the hantaviruses, phleboviruses, nairoviruses, and the orthobunyaviruses. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16] While ribavirin has proven to be effective and is generally the standard other antiviral compounds are measured against, it is not without its limitations. First, there are concerns about its side-effects such as hemolytic anemia and potential teratogenicity.…”