Treatment[edit]
Although MERS-CoV has been shown to antagonize endogenous interferon (IFN) production, treatment with exogenous types I and III IFN (IFN-α and IFN-λ, respectively) have effectively reduced viral replication in vitro.[36] When rhesus macaques were given interferon-α2b and ribavirin and exposed to MERS, they developed less pneumonia than control animals.[37] Five critically ill people with MERS in Saudi Arabia with ARDS and on ventilators were given interferon-α2b and ribavirin but all ended up dying of the disease. The treatment was started late in their disease (a mean of 19 days after hospital admission) and they had already failed trials of steroids so it remains to be seen whether it may have benefit earlier in the course of disease.[38][39] Another proposed therapy is inhibition of viral protease[40] or kinase enzymes.[41] Researchers are investigating a number of ways to combat the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus, including using interferon, chloroquine, chlorpromazine, loperamide, and lopinavir,[42] as well as other agents such as mycophenolic acid[43][44] and camostat.[45][46]