Kinkini Gupta
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Written By: Kinkini Gupta | Updated : May 26, 2022 11:46 AM IST
Antivirals might be effective in slowing down the time span and reducing the symptoms of Monkeypox.
A paper published by researchers in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, talks about a retrospective study of seven patient suffering from Monkeypox in the United Kingdom between the years 2018 and 2021. This paper talks about two particular antiviral medications brincidofovir and tecovirimat. Researchers have stated that these antiviral medications might be able to shorten the times span of the disease and reduce the symptoms as well. However, after using both the antivirals on patients, researchers stated that there effectiveness have not been proven but tecovirimat might be more effective that brincidofovir.
Three patients were treated with the antiviral brincidofovir. Their treatment started seven days after they first started developing symptoms like rash. According to reports, the antiviral did not have successful effects and, moreover, the patients' liver blood tests showed some alterations. Researchers state that maybe a different dosing schedule or early treatment could have had a more successful impact. Aside from this, all three patients recovered fully from the disease.
Out of the three patients suffering from Monkeypox in the UK in 2021, one of them was treated successfully with tecovirimat. All the other patients experienced mild symptoms and were under observation and quarantine to control the infection. Their infection, however, was not severe.
Only one patient have been reported to have experienced a relapse that was not so severe after there treatment. Another patient o the other hand developed a deep tissue abscess that required immediate treatment.
Lead author Dr. Hugh Adler said that there research is one of the first to gather some insights about the use and effects of these antivirals for treating Monkeypox. Researchers have called for further research into this disease as permanent conclusions were not drawn regarding how effective the antivirals have been.
Dr. Catherine Houlihan, of the UK Health Security Agency and University College London stated, "During previous outbreaks of Monkeypox, patients were considered infectious until all lesions crusted over. In these seven UK cases, viral shedding was observed for at least three weeks following infection. However, data on infectivity remains limited, and is an important area for future study."
