TOKYO: A new dengue treatment that could become the first treatment to prevent and treat the virus has been effective in preliminary trials on monkeys, according to new research.
Dengue is spread by mosquitoes. Affects millions. Each year, producing the brutal symptoms that have given it the name “breakbone fever.”
It is endemic in dozens of countries, but there is no cure, and the two vaccines that have been developed are not yet universally approved.
Two years ago, researchers published work showing that a compound could effectively block the virus from replicating in cell cultures and mice by blocking the interaction between two proteins.
Now the team has refined the compound and tested it in both mice and monkeys, with “very encouraging” results, said Marnicks van Loek, director of emerging pathogens at Johnson & Johnson’s Johnson Companies, a pharmaceutical company. Leader for
In rhesus macaques, a high dose of the compound, known as JNJ-1802, “completely inhibited viral replication”, he told AFP, while viral RNA in control animals decreased by three to three times post-infection. Found out between seven days.
In monkeys, the compound was tested against two of the four most common types of dengue, and only for its preventive, rather than therapeutic, properties.
But it has been tested against all four strains of dengue in mice for both treatment and prevention, with successful results, Van Lok said.
Dengue can cause severe flu-like symptoms and can sometimes become severe and life-threatening.
Because there are four different types, being infected with one does not protect against the other, and catching dengue a second time is often more serious.
A hot, humid climate that is more hospitable to mosquitoes could potentially increase the spread of insect-borne viruses, the researchers warn.
With no cure available, efforts are currently focused on reducing transmission – including infecting mosquitoes with the bacteria.
A vaccine called Dengvaxia is only approved for use in some countries and is effective against only one strain.
A second vaccine, Qdenga, was approved for use in the European Union last December, and has also been greenlit by the UK and Indonesia.
There are still questions to be answered about the treatment, however, including whether it may increase the risk of reinfection.
When people contract dengue, the presence of the virus in their blood usually triggers a strong immune response that protects them from future infections.
But in some people, the immune response is weakened and they are prone to re-infections, which can cause more serious symptoms.
It remains unclear whether inhibiting or reducing viral replication may confer the same risk for reinfection.
Researchers will need to collect safety data from their current phase of testing before proceeding with further human trials, including field studies in dengue-affected areas.
Van Lok was reluctant to speculate about when a treatment might actually be usable.
“We’re guided by the science and the data we generate to answer that question,” he said.