Brazil scientists discover Zika virus inhibitor

Scientists from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) in Pernambuco discovered a substance that can block Zika virus. However, years of study are still necessary before the 6-methylmercaptopurine riboside (6MMPr) can be turned into a medicine and be produced in large scale. The substance is believed to imitate part of the virus, which is inserted into its genome for replication. The success obtained by the specialists reached over 99%. The study was published in the International Journal of Antimicrobial Agents on August 11, 2017 but the institution only announced the discovery this week. The synthetic substance belongs to the Thiopurine group, along with medicines used to treat cancer. This particular type, however, was never used; FIOCRUZ researchers worked with 6MMPr in another study, to fight the virus that causes canine distemper, a dog disease. “We have identified its activity against canine distemper. And since it’s an RNA virus, just like Zika virus, we’ve come up...