Nipah virus: Has China developed a cure? Researchers claim Covid-19 drug VV116 gives 66.7% positive results

The deadly Nipah virus outbreak in West Bengal has sent shock waves around the world. Due to the Nipah scare and 2 confirmed cases, airports across parts of Asia have reinstated Covid-style health checks amid no approved vaccine or medicine to treat it. However, Chinese researchers seem to have found a possible cure to the disease, which has a fatality rate of up to 75%.

According to researchers from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the effectiveness of an oral antiviral drug named “VV116” was tested on hamsters. This drug, originally developed to treat COVID-19, showed positive results: 2/3 of infected hamsters survived after receiving this dose.

“This finding is the first to demonstrate the therapeutic potential of VV116 against Nipah virus,” South China Morning Post quoted the institute as saying.

The research findings revealed that an oral dose of VV116 increased the survival rate of golden hamsters up to 66.7 per cent. It further suggested that this drug reduced the amount of virus in the organs commonly targeted by the virus, including the lungs, spleen, and brain.

Declaring it a “preventive drug,” the institute in a statement said, “It can be used not only as a preventive drug for high-risk groups such as healthcare workers and laboratory workers, but also as a readily available drug option for dealing with current and future Nipah virus outbreaks." The key observations of this study were published in the journal “Emerging Microbes & Infections” in November.

Symptoms of Nipah virus

From altered consciousness and confusion to seizures, Neurological symptoms emerge within days or weeks after catching the infection.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the Nipah virus is a zoonotic virus which causes death among 40% to 75% infected persons. Following an outbreak in Kerala eight years ago, the WHO classified Nipah as a priority disease for research and development. In May 2018, it claimed 17 lives.

AIIMS Bilaspur president, Professor Dr Narendra Kumar Arora, warned of serious public health risks from this “highly infectious and fatal” virus. He said, “Nipah virus is a zoonotic disease. These sporadic outbreaks have occurred in both Kerala and West Bengal. Even Bangladesh is endemic for the Nipah virus," ANI reported. Dr Arora said that Nipah patients must be administered monoclonal antibodies as soon as possible, noting that their availability is limited globally.

This virus is transmitted from animals to humans through contaminated food. It is a communicable disease that can also transmit directly from person to person.