An antiviral drug that was used to fight the 2022-23 global mpox outbreak does not work against a more severe variant of the virus that is now spreading rapidly in Africa, according to researchers. 

The drug, tecovirimat, was not shown to reduce the duration of lesions in children and adults with clade I mpox, a more dangerous strain of the disease, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), results of a placebo test by researchers from the DRC and the United States revealed, reports Politico.

“These findings are disappointing, but they give us essential information and reinforce the need to identify other therapeutic candidates for mpox while we continue research on tecovirimat use in other populations with mpox,” Jeanne Marrazzo, the director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), commented.

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