The drug tecovirimat is currently in use for the treatment of mpox — the disease caused by monkeypox virus — that spread worldwide in 2022. Tecovirimat is an anti-poxviral drug, and its use is driving the emergence of drug-resistant variants of the monkeypox virus. Scientists have identified how monkeypox virus exploits a cellular protein to evade host defenses, allowing it to replicate and spread better. Existing drugs — developed to treat other viral infections — also target this cellular protein. When tested against a range of poxviruses, including monkeypox, these drugs were found to have antiviral effects in all cases.
