Ivermectin inhibits replication of the malignant catarrhal fever virus alcelaphine herpesvirus 1.

Blanka Patho, Dawn M Grant, Ann Percival, George C Russell

Virology 2024 Feb

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Malignant catarrhal fever is a lymphoproliferative disease of cattle and other ungulates that is caused by genetically and antigenically related gamma herpesviruses of the genus Macavirus. Infection of the natural host species is efficient and asymptomatic but spread to susceptible hosts is often fatal with clinical signs including fever, depression, nasal and ocular discharge. There is no recognised treatment for MCF but a vaccine for one MCF virus, alcelaphine herpesvirus 1 (AlHV-1), has been described. In this paper we describe the inhibition of AlHV-1 replication and propagation by the anthelminthic drug ivermectin. Concentrations of 10 μM or greater led to significant reductions in both copy number and viable titre of virus tested in culture medium, with little replication detected at over 20 μM ivermectin. In the absence of alternative treatments, further testing of ivermectin as a candidate antiviral treatment for MCF may therefore be justified. Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Citation

Blanka Patho, Dawn M Grant, Ann Percival, George C Russell. Ivermectin inhibits replication of the malignant catarrhal fever virus alcelaphine herpesvirus 1. Virology. 2024 Feb;590:109958