Stampidine prevents mortality in an experimental mouse model of viral hemorrhagic fever caused by lassa virus

We examined the therapeutic effect of Stampidine in CBA mice inoculated with intracerebral injections of the Josiah strain of Lassa virus. Mice were treated either with vehicle or nontoxic doses of stampidine administered intraperitoneally 24 hours prior to, 1 hour prior to, and 24 hours, 48 hours, 72 hours, and 96 hours after virus inoculation.The probability of survival following the Lassa challenge was significantly improved for stampidine treated mice (Kaplan Meier, Chi-squared = 11.7, df = 2, Log-Rank p-value = 0.003).Therefore, stampidine shows clinical potential as a new agent for treatment of viral hemorrhagic fevers caused by Lassa virus.The potential use of microorganisms as agents of biological warfare (BW) is a growing concern for several reasons, including ease of production and dispersion, delayed onset, ability to cause high rates of morbidity and mortality, difficulties in rapid diagnosis, and very limited treatment options [1]. Biological agents that have been identified as posing the greatest threat are variola major (smallpox), Bacillus anthracis (anthrax), Yersinia pestis (plague), Clostridium botulinum toxin (botulism), Francisella tularensis (tularaemia), and hemorrhagic fever viruses [1]. Viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) are virus-induced potentially fatal acute febrile, hemorrhagic diseases reported from wide areas of the world. Hemorrhagic fever (HF) viruses are enveloped, single-stranded RNA viruses that are associated with insect or rodent vectors whose interaction with humans defines the mode of disease transmission. There are 14 HF viruses, which belong to four viral families: Arenaviridae, Bunyaviridae, Filoviridae and Flaviviridae [2]. Arenaviruses are single-stranded RNA viruses and show a predilection for rodents as virus reservoirs [3,4]. This virus family includes lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCM) virus, Lassa virus, and the Tacaribe complex of viruses [3,4]. Pathogenic arenoviruses have been identified as the causative agents in Ar