Remdesivir (GS-5734) protects African green monkeys from Nipah virus challenge
Michael K Lo, Friederike Feldmann, Joy M Gary, Robert Jordan, Roy Bannister, Jacqueline Cronin, Nishi R Patel, John D Klena, Stuart T Nichol, Tomas Cihlar, Sherif R Zaki, Heinz Feldmann, Christina F Spiropoulou, Emmie de Wit, Michael K Lo, Friederike Feldmann, Joy M Gary, Robert Jordan, Roy Bannister, Jacqueline Cronin, Nishi R Patel, John D Klena, Stuart T Nichol, Tomas Cihlar, Sherif R Zaki, Heinz Feldmann, Christina F Spiropoulou, Emmie de Wit
Abstract
Nipah virus is an emerging pathogen in the Paramyxoviridae family. Upon transmission of Nipah virus from its natural reservoir, Pteropus spp. fruit bats, to humans, it causes respiratory and neurological disease with a case-fatality rate about 70%. Human-to-human transmission has been observed during Nipah virus outbreaks in Bangladesh and India. A therapeutic treatment for Nipah virus disease is urgently needed. Here, we tested the efficacy of remdesivir (GS-5734), a broad-acting antiviral nucleotide prodrug, against Nipah virus Bangladesh genotype in African green monkeys. Animals were inoculated with a lethal dose of Nipah virus, and a once-daily intravenous remdesivir treatment was initiated 24 hours later and continued for 12 days. Mild respiratory signs were observed in two of four treated animals, whereas all control animals developed severe respiratory disease signs. In contrast to control animals, which all succumbed to the infection, all remsdesivir-treated animals survived the lethal challenge, indicating that remdesivir represents a promising antiviral treatment for Nipah virus infection.
Conflict of interest statement
Competing interests: The authors affiliated with Gilead Sciences are employees of the company and may own company stock. R.J. holds a patent on the use of remdesivir to treat Filovirus infections. The authors affiliated with CDC and NIH have no conflict of interests to report.
Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.
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Source: PubMed