Ribavirin inhibits West Nile virus replication and cytopathic effect in neural cells
The Journal of infectious diseases, 2000•academic.oup.com
West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen that was reported for the
first time in the Western hemisphere in August 1999, when an encephalitis outbreak in New
York City resulted in 62 clinical cases and 7 deaths. WNV, for which no antiviral therapy has
been described, was recently recovered from a pool of mosquitoes collected in New York
City. In anticipation of the recurrence of WNV during the summer of 2000, an analysis was
made of the efficacy of the nucleoside analogue ribavirin, a broad-spectrum antiviral …
first time in the Western hemisphere in August 1999, when an encephalitis outbreak in New
York City resulted in 62 clinical cases and 7 deaths. WNV, for which no antiviral therapy has
been described, was recently recovered from a pool of mosquitoes collected in New York
City. In anticipation of the recurrence of WNV during the summer of 2000, an analysis was
made of the efficacy of the nucleoside analogue ribavirin, a broad-spectrum antiviral …
Abstract
West Nile virus (WNV) is an emerging mosquito-borne pathogen that was reported for the first time in the Western hemisphere in August 1999, when an encephalitis outbreak in New York City resulted in 62 clinical cases and 7 deaths. WNV, for which no antiviral therapy has been described, was recently recovered from a pool of mosquitoes collected in New York City. In anticipation of the recurrence of WNV during the summer of 2000, an analysis was made of the efficacy of the nucleoside analogue ribavirin, a broad-spectrum antiviral compound with activity against several RNA viruses, for treatment of WNV infection. High doses of ribavirin were found to inhibit WNV replication and cytopathogenicity in human neural cells in vitro.
Oxford University Press