Severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus is inhibited by interferon- alpha
View/ Open
Date
2004-04Author
Ströher, U
DiCaro, A
Li, Y
Strong, JE
Aoki, F
Plummer, F
Jones, SM
Feldmann, H.
Type
ArticleLanguage
enMetadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Current treatment schemes for severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) include broad-spectrum antibiotics, glucocorticoids, and ribavirin. We evaluated the susceptibility of the SARS-related coronavirus (SARS CoV) to ribavirin and interferon (IFN)- alpha in vitro by use of cytopathic effect, plaque assay, and immunoblot analysis. Ribavirin did not inhibit viral growth at concentrations attainable in human serum. In contrast, IFN- alpha showed an in vitro inhibitory effect starting at concentrations of 1000 IU/mL. In conclusion, ribavirin alone is unlikely to be beneficial in the prophylaxis or treatment of SARS CoV infections. Clinical trials with IFN- alpha might be justified to determine a beneficial effect on the outcome of SARS.
URI
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15031783http://erepository.uonbi.ac.ke:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/60859
Citation
H. J Infect Dis. 2004 Apr 1;189(7):1164-7. Epub 2004 Mar 12.Publisher
University of Nairobi Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba,
Collections
- Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) [10387]