The drug tecovirimat, in particular, appears to be effective, although scientists say more research is urgently needed to confirm this.

The monkeypox virus seems to be on the rise. Not only did the number of infections in Great Britain rise last week, more and more countries are reporting new cases. And so the need for a working medicine is becoming increasingly urgent. In a small study published in the prestigious journal The Lancet, researchers observed the response of monkeypox patients to two different antiviral drugs. And the results are moderately positive.

More about the monkeypox virus
The monkeypox virus spreads from animals to humans; usually through an animal bite or eating improperly cooked meat. In rare cases, the virus can spread from person to person. The first human case was discovered in Congo in 1970. Since then, the virus has actually rarely been seen outside of Central and West African countries. The reported symptoms of monkeypox include fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes. Death rates vary widely, from 1 to 10 percent in Congo to less than 3 percent in Nigeria. Most deaths from monkeypox occur in children and people with HIV.

Little is known about the monkeypox virus. For example, it is still unclear how long someone is contagious, although the incubation period seems to vary between five and 21 days. There are also currently no approved treatments. Patients usually stay in isolation in a specialized hospital to prevent the virus from spreading.

Antivirals

In the new study, scientists examined data from seven people diagnosed with the virus in Britain. Four of them had monkey pox virus a few years ago and three of them recently became infected. The researchers observed clinical data alongside blood tests and nose and throat swabs to describe the duration and clinical features of monkeypox in these seven people. In addition, they studied the monkeypox patients’ response to antiviral drugs designed to treat smallpox: brincidofovir and tecovirimat. These agents have previously been shown to be effective against monkey pox in animals.

Brincidofovir and tecovirimat

The first four monkeypox patients had been treated with the antiviral drug brincidofovir. However, the researchers found that treatment with brincidofovir did not lead to visible improvements, although they note that it is not known whether administration of the drug earlier in the course of the disease or at a different dose would have produced different results. Despite this, these patients made a full recovery.

One of the recently infected monkeypox patients was treated with tecovirimat. This patient experienced a shorter duration of symptoms and was found to be contagious for a shorter time. This seems to indicate that some antiviral drugs can ensure that patients suffer from symptoms for a shorter period of time and are contagious for a shorter period of time. Although that is good news, the researchers are cautious. For example, they note that in such a small cohort no conclusions can be drawn about the antiviral effectiveness of this drug against monkey pox.

Expand knowledge

According to experts, it is very important that we expand our knowledge about the virus as soon as possible. “Until now, monkeypox has been a rare, imported disease in the UK,” the researchers write. “Outbreaks outside of Africa are uncommon. But in recent days, the number of cases has risen significantly in several European countries and worldwide. However, data on clinical trials is lacking.”

New insights

But the new study provides at least partially new insights. “Public health experts are trying to understand what caused the monkeypox outbreaks in Europe and North America in May 2022, which infected several people who have not been to countries where the monkeypox virus is circulating and have no known connections to the British where it is known. virus has been identified before,” said Hugh Adler, lead author of the paper. “Meanwhile, our study provides some of the first insights into the use of antivirals to treat monkeypox in humans.”

The researchers state that more research into antivirals as a treatment for monkeypox is urgently needed. In addition, it is certainly worthwhile to further study the effectiveness of tecovirimat. The hope is that a well-functioning drug will eventually become available that can completely cure this neglected tropical disease.