ISTOCK, LUISMMOLINAChloroquine has been used for decades to prevent and treat malaria. It also appears to partially ward off the Zika virus in unborn mice when their mothers are given the drug, researchers report today (November 17) in Scientific Reports.
The scientists showed that when mice infected with Zika virus drank chloroquine-treated water mid-way through their pregnancies, their pups ended up with 20-fold less virus in their brains than pups whose mothers were not treated.
Because chloroquine is already considered safe for use during pregnancy, the authors say it should be considered for treatment and prevention of Zika infection in women.
“Chloroquine has a long history of successfully treating malaria, and there are no reports of it causing birth defects,” coauthor Alexey Terskikh of Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute says in a press release. “Additional studies are certainly needed to determine the precise details of how it works. But given its low cost, availability and safety history further study in a clinical trial to ...
