Abstract

Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in sub-Saharan Africa are associated with case fatality rates of up to 90%. Currently, neither a vaccine nor an effective antiviral treatment is available for use in humans. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the pyrazinecarboxamide derivative T-705 (favipiravir) against Zaire Ebola virus (EBOV) in vitro and in vivo. T-705 suppressed replication of Zaire EBOV in cell culture by 4log units with an IC90 of 110μM. Mice lacking the type I interferon receptor (IFNAR(-)(/)(-)) were used as in vivo model for Zaire EBOV-induced disease. Initiation of T-705 administration at day 6 post infection induced rapid virus clearance, reduced biochemical parameters of disease severity, and prevented a lethal outcome in 100% of the animals. The findings suggest that T-705 is a candidate for treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Keywords

FavipiravirEbola virusVirologyEbolavirusOutbreakEbola Hemorrhagic FeverCase fatality rateIn vivoMedicineVirusImmunologyBiologyDiseaseInfectious disease (medical specialty)Internal medicineEpidemiologyCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

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Publication Info

Year
2014
Type
article
Volume
105
Pages
17-21
Citations
483
Access
Closed

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Lisa Oestereich, Anja Lüdtke, Stephanie Wurr et al. (2014). Successful treatment of advanced Ebola virus infection with T-705 (favipiravir) in a small animal model. Antiviral Research , 105 , 17-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.02.014

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DOI
10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.02.014