Medicine traditionally indicated by doctors for the treatment of Hepatitis C has been tested and its effectiveness has been proven in the treatment of patients with the disease chikungunya .
The antiviral drug sofosbuvir had three times better results than the drug normally used to relieve the symptoms of the disease, ribavirin .
The discovery was made by several Brazilian researchers, among them were scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Institute, from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and other laboratories.
The study was published in the American Society Microbiology and, according to the researchers, the study is the first to prove that sofosbuvir is able to prevent the virus from replicating.
Read more: Learn more about the dengue, zika and chikungunya viruses
Tests, still performed on mice, showed that the substance was able to reduce the replication of CHIKV (disease virus) by up to 3 times, more promising effects than those promoted by ribavirin, a medication used to reduce joint pain, a symptom disease.
Through the discovery it is possible to find new therapeutic options for patients who have been infected by chikungunya, as the disease has no cure yet and also has no specific treatment.
The only measures to be taken by the patient are the so-called palliative treatments, which are reduced in reducing the most common symptoms and promoting greater well-being.
Sofosbuvir was also shown to be 25% less toxic to body cells in comparative tests with the other drug.
In addition, studies indicate that the drug may have an effective action against other diseases caused by different viruses.
However, methods of preventing and fighting mosquitoes are still the main measure to be intensified. Caring for the proliferation of vectors avoids cases of the disease, especially at this time of year, when high temperatures promote a total increase in the number of mosquitoes.
Along with dengue and zika, chikungunya fever is also transmitted by the Aedes Aegypti mosquito. Therefore, combating the vector is the best method of prevention.
