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. 2014 May:105:17-21.
doi: 10.1016/j.antiviral.2014.02.014. Epub 2014 Feb 26.

Successful treatment of advanced Ebola virus infection with T-705 (favipiravir) in a small animal model

Lisa Oestereich  1 , Anja Lüdtke  2 , Stephanie Wurr  1 , Toni Rieger  1 , César Muñoz-Fontela  2 , Stephan Günther  3
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Free article

Successful treatment of advanced Ebola virus infection with T-705 (favipiravir) in a small animal model

Lisa Oestereich et al. Antiviral Res. 2014 May.
Free article

Abstract

Outbreaks of Ebola hemorrhagic fever in sub-Saharan Africa are associated with case fatality rates of up to 90%. Currently, neither a vaccine nor an effective antiviral treatment is available for use in humans. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the pyrazinecarboxamide derivative T-705 (favipiravir) against Zaire Ebola virus (EBOV) in vitro and in vivo. T-705 suppressed replication of Zaire EBOV in cell culture by 4log units with an IC90 of 110μM. Mice lacking the type I interferon receptor (IFNAR(-)(/)(-)) were used as in vivo model for Zaire EBOV-induced disease. Initiation of T-705 administration at day 6 post infection induced rapid virus clearance, reduced biochemical parameters of disease severity, and prevented a lethal outcome in 100% of the animals. The findings suggest that T-705 is a candidate for treatment of Ebola hemorrhagic fever.

Keywords: Antiviral testing; Ebolavirus; Mouse model.

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