Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection medical therapy
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Overview
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory illness. It is caused by an emerging coronavirus, specifically a betacoronavirus called MERS-CoV (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus), first discovered in 2012. Being a relatively novel virus, treatment options are very limited, with no antiviral therapy approved for treating patients yet. Outbreaks of MERS-CoV represent a great challenge since there is very limited time to develop and test new pharmaceutical drugs. Up until now, supportive medical care, along with untested convalescent plasma, have been the only treatment options. However, reuse of drugs for other viruses is presenting as an attractive alternative for MERS-CoV.[1]
Medical Therapy
MERS represents a great challenge in terms of treatment because it is caused by a relatively novel virus, to which there is no specific approved therapy yet. According to the International Severe Acute Respiratory & Emerging Infection Consortium (ISARIC), supportive medical care continues to be the approved treatment for MERS. Recent studies are showing the potential use of other drugs and therapies to treat MERS-CoV, however, lack of evidence makes these new therapies uncertain.[1] According to the ISARIC, some therapies, along with routine investigations, are more worth of consideration for experimentation. These include:
- Convalescent plasma -
- Intravenous immunoglobulin -
- Interferon -
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Dyall J, Coleman CM, Hart BJ, Venkataraman T, Holbrook MR, Kindrachuk J; et al. (2014). "Repurposing of clinically developed drugs for treatment of Middle East Respiratory Coronavirus Infection". Antimicrob Agents Chemother. doi:10.1128/AAC.03036-14. PMID 24841273.