A cure for Mers? Hong Kong scientists endorse two drugs they say cured marmosets of the virus
Doctors urged to use the medicines immediately after they prove effective in curing marmosets
A breakthrough study by the University of Hong Kong has found two existing drugs offer the best hope of beating the Middle East respiratory syndrome (Mers) coronavirus that has claimed hundreds of lives globally since its emergence three years ago.
The two medicines, which are now being used to treat HIV and sclerosis, have proven to be effective in curing Mers-infected marmosets, palm-size monkeys that are considered the best animal models to study the virus.
The research is the first in the world to use the monkeys to confirm the efficacy of these two drugs against Mers, with no other viable treatments immediately available.
"We would recommend doctors to start using both drugs immediately to treat Mers patients if they are critical," said Jasper Chan Fuk-woo, clinical assistant professor in microbiology at HKU.
"The evidence in this study is quite strong in proving the effectiveness of these two drugs."
Also in Chan's team was Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, head of the microbiology department, who is well known for his work in fighting the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003.