![Tapeworm drug stops Zika from replicating in lab: study](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/08/_2/740x404/pic_1472493534.jpg)
Tapeworm Drug Stops Zika From Replicating In Lab: Study
Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published August 29, 2016 | 10:58 PM
![Tapeworm drug stops Zika from replicating in lab: study](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/08/_2/740x404/pic_1472493534.jpg)
PARIS, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th August, 2016) - A common drug used to kill tapeworm prevented the Zika virus from replicating in lab experiments, scientists said Monday. The medicine, Nicolsamide, was previously shown to be safe for pregnant women, which may boost its rapid deployment to treat Zika infection, they reported in the journal Nature Medicine. "The findings should significantly advance current Zika virus research and have an immediate effect on the development of anti-Zika therapeutics," the team concluded. Transmitted mainly by mosquitos but also through sexual transmission, Zika can cause crippling birth defects in the foetuses of infected women. In adults, it can in rare cases lead to neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre syndrome.
To find medications that -- if found effective -- could be used quickly, the researchers scanned 6,000 compounds already approved by the US food and Drug Administration or in clinical trials. "In this sort of global health emergency, we don't have time to wait," said co-author Hongjun Song, a virologist at Johns Hopkins University. The encouraging results have yet to be reproduced outside the laboratory, the scientists cautioned. "There is no evidence yet that Nicolsamide is effective in the body," Song told AFP.
"Additional animal studies, and then human clinical trials, are necessary."
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
4 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
4 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
4 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
5 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
5 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
5 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
5 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
5 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
5 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
5 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
6 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
6 hours ago