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 Two doses of the drug, BCX443, were tested against a placebo and an
oral antiviral called ribavarin for their effect on survival of
immune-deficient mice infected with Zika.
Seven out of eight mice that received the "standard" dose survived
but none of the other mice that received either a low dose, the
placebo or ribavirin were alive after 28 days.
The study was conducted at Utah State University under an ongoing
program run by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases (NIAID), which is part of the National Institutes of
Health.
The mosquito-borne Zika virus has been linked to brain damage in
thousands of babies in Brazil. There is no proven vaccine or
treatment for the virus.
(Reporting by Rosmi Shaji in Bengaluru; Editing by Ted Kerr)
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