Pediatric Drug Nitazoxanide: A Potential Choice for Control of Zika

Zika virus (ZIKV) infection can be the cause of congenital malformations, including microcephaly in infants and can cause other disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningoencephalitis, and myelitis, which can also occur in some infected adults. However, at this time, there is no drug approved...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Open forum infectious diseases 2017-01, Vol.4 (1), p.ofx009-ofx009
Main Authors: Cao, Rui-Yuan, Xu, Yong-Fen, Zhang, Tian-Hong, Yang, Jing-Jing, Yuan, Ye, Hao, Pei, Shi, Yi, Zhong, Jin, Zhong, Wu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brief Report
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Summary:Zika virus (ZIKV) infection can be the cause of congenital malformations, including microcephaly in infants and can cause other disorders such as Guillain-Barré syndrome, meningoencephalitis, and myelitis, which can also occur in some infected adults. However, at this time, there is no drug approved to treat ZIKV infection. Drug repurposing is the promptest way to obtain an effective drug during a global public health emergency such as the spread of Zika virus. In this study, we report a US Food and Drug Admistration-approved drug that is safe for pediatric use. Nitazoxanide and its bioactive metabolite, tizoxanide, have anti-ZIKV potential in vitro, and we identified that they exerts antiviral effect possibly by targeting the viral postattachment step.
ISSN:2328-8957
2328-8957
DOI:10.1093/ofid/ofx009