Zika Treatment: Experts Make Zika Drug Breakthrough With Tapeworm, Hepatitis Meds; Is This The Zika Cure We've Been Waiting For?

Experts might have finally gotten a breakthrough in the drive to find a viable Zika treatment. They have looked into a drug that is currently being used for treating tapeworm and another compound for being tested for hepatitis treatment. Could these be the Zika cure the world has been waiting for?

In a study published in the journal Nature Medicine, experts from the National Institutes of Health, John Hopkins and Florida State University, looked into medicines already found in the market or are currently in trials, whose compounds might be able to prevent the spread of Zika virus. They were able to find this in two potential medications: Niclosamide, which is an FDA-approved drug for treating tapeworms and other worm infections, and emricasan, which is currently being tested as a hepatitis cure.

Niclosamide has been in the market for over 50 years and it's also proven to be safe for pregnant women. Laboratory testings have shown that the drug prevented the replication of Zika virus in the stem cells, per NBC News. However, because Niclosamide is a medication for the gut, researchers are still going to look into how effective it will be for the brain.

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On the other hand, current emricasan studies show that the drug is well-tolerated among humans suffering from chronic hepatitis C infection. However, it's still commercially not available as more human testing will have to be undertaken. Experts did determine that it is effective at preventing Zika in killing the cells in the body.

Researchers decided to study existing medications because developing a new Zika cure could take years. "In this sort of global health emergency, we don't have that kind of time," said Hongjun Song, one of the researchers in the reports. Over 6,000 compounds were studied before the experts narrowed this down to these two viable choices, per Science Daily.