Treatment

Currently there are no licensed treatments available for Nipah virus (NiV) infection. Treatment is limited to supportive care, including rest, hydration, and treatment of symptoms as they occur.

There are, however, immunotherapeutic treatments (monoclonal antibody therapies) that are currently under development and evaluation for treatment of NiV infections. One such monoclonal antibody, m102.4, has completed phase 1 clinical trials and has been used on a compassionate use basis. In addition, the antiviral treatment remdesivir has been effective in nonhuman primates when given as post-exposure prophylaxis, and may be complementary to immunotherapeutic treatments. The drug ribavirin was used to treat a small number of patients in the initial Malaysian NiV outbreak, but its efficacy in people is unclear.