Treatment with interferon-α2b and ribavirin improves outcome in MERS-CoV–infected rhesus macaques

The Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) has killed ∼50% of individuals known to be infected, making understanding its mechanisms of transmission and pathogenesis and identifying candidate treatments a high priority. Heinz Feldmann, Vincent J. Munster and Michael G. Katze and their colleagues now report that treating MERS-CoV-infected rhesus macaques with interferon-α2b and ribavirin reduced virus replication and infection severity, suggesting the potential use of this combination for the clinical treatment of infected humans.