Two common drugs may help treat deadly Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

Treatment with two common drugs reduced viral replication and lung damage when given to monkeys infected with the virus that causes Middle East Respiratory Syndrome. The condition is a deadly pneumonia that has killed more than 100 people, primarily in the Middle East. The new findings show that a combination of interferon-alpha 2b and ribavirin, drugs routinely used to treat hepatitis C, may be effective against this emerging disease.