Document Type
Article
Journal/Book Title/Conference
Pathogens
Volume
14
Issue
9
Publisher
MDPI AG
Publication Date
9-12-2025
Journal Article Version
Version of Record
First Page
1
Last Page
9
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Abstract
Yellow fever virus (YFV) recurrently causes severe outbreaks in tropical regions of South America and Africa and an average of 30 to 40 thousand deaths worldwide each year. An effective vaccine is available but the coverage of the population in countries at risk is not optimal. No antivirals are currently approved for YFV treatment. Herein, we describe the evaluation of 6-MMPr, a de-novo-purine-nucleotide biosynthesis inhibitor, as a potentiator for enhanced activity of the broad-spectrum antiviral drug favipiravir in a hamster model of yellow fever. Administration of 6-MMPr was well-tolerated and a combination of favipiravir and 6-MMPr did not cause overt toxicity as indicated by normal weight gain of treated hamsters. Treatment with a combination of a suboptimal dose of favipiravir with 6-MMPr was significantly more effective in improving survival, weight change and virus replication when compared with monotherapy. The initiation of treatment two days after virus challenge was also effective in improving survival when compared with monotherapy. Our results demonstrate the safety and efficacy of such a combination either as a preventive or delayed treatment.
Recommended Citation
Weight, A.E.; Stanger, H.; Geraghty, R.J.; Bonnac, L.F.; Julander, J.G. In Vivo Efficacy of a Broad-spectrum Antiviral Combination Against Yellow Fever in a Hamster Model. Pathogens 2025, 14, 925. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens14090925