Treatment of acute Nipah encephalitis with ribavirin

• Published in: Annals of neurology Vol. 49; no. 6; pp. 810 - 813
• Main Authors: Chong, Heng-Thay, Kamarulzaman, Adeeba, Tan, Chong-Tin, Goh, Khean-Jin, Thayaparan, Tarmizi, Kunjapan, Sree Raman, Chew, Nee-Kong, Chua, Kaw-Bing, Lam, Sai-Kit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.06.2001; Willey-Liss
• Subjects: Adult; Antibiotics. Antiinfectious agents. Antiparasitic agents; Antiviral agents; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Biological and medical sciences; China - ethnology; Encephalitis, Viral - drug therapy; Encephalitis, Viral - mortality; Encephalitis, Viral - physiopathology; Encephalitis, Viral - virology; Female; Human viral diseases; Humans; Infectious diseases; Malaysia; Male; Medical sciences; Paramyxovirinae - classification; Paramyxovirinae - isolation & purification; Paramyxovirinae - physiology; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Retrospective Studies; Ribavirin - adverse effects; Ribavirin - therapeutic use; Treatment Outcome; Treatment Refusal; Tropical medicine; Viral diseases; Viral diseases of the nervous system; Asia; Malaysia; China; Infection; Human; Encephalitis; Nervous system diseases; Chemotherapy; Treatment; Viral disease; Acute; Central nervous system disease; Antiviral; Ribavirin; Cerebral disorder
• ISSN: 0364-5134; 1531-8249
• DOI: 10.1002/ana.1062

Nipah virus, a newly identified paramyxovirus caused a severe outbreak of encephalitis in Malaysia with high fatalities. We report an open‐label trial of ribavirin in 140 patients, with 54 patients who were managed prior to the availability of ribavirin or refused treatment as control. There were 45 deaths (32%) in the ribavirin arm; 29 deaths (54%) occurred in the control arm. This represents a 36% reduction in mortality (p = 0.011). There was no associated serious side effect. This study suggests that ribavirin is able to reduce the mortality of acute Nipah encephalitis.