Arushi Bidhuri
... Read More
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookie Policy.
Monkeypox has been spreading at a rapid rate with more than 45,000 cases of the disease being reported thus far. Despite that the symptoms of monkeypox go away on their own in 2-4 weeks, 13 per cent of the patients have been hospitalized after getting infected. While there was a vaccine available to fight monkeypox, the officials from World Health Organization had said that it might not be the "silver bullet" many hoped for. However, a new study has found that the antiviral tecovirimat might be the safe and effective treatment that might help treat the signs and symptoms of monkeypox and its skin lesions.
For the study published in the journal JAMA, 25 monkeypox patients who had tecovirimat therapy were included in the study. All patients included in the study were male between the ages of 27-76, seven of which had HIV.
The FDA has approved the antiviral medication tecovirimat (TPOXX) for the treatment of smallpox. It prevents the protein responsible for releasing the wrapped virus from spreading in the body.
Oral tecovirimat was prescribed for patients who had skin lesions on several body parts or in delicate locations like the face or vaginal area. The patients were asked to consume a high-fat meal within 30 minutes of the weight-based treatment, which was administered every 8-12 hours.
As per the small study, 92 per cent of the patients developed lesions in their anal or genital regions. All patients had painful lesions, but only around half of them had less than 10 spots all over their bodies. The patients exhibited symptoms or lesions on average for 12 days prior to beginning their antiviral therapy. They also found that 76 per cent of the patients had a fever, whereas 32 per cent had weariness, 20 per cent had a sore throat and 10 per cent experienced chills. Patients in the study also complained of diarrhoea, nausea, backache, and muscle discomfort.
(With inputs from agencies)