U.S. health officials are advising doctors not to overuse the only antiviral for monkeypox because there is a risk of the virus mutating and rendering the drug useless.
TPOXX (tecovirimat) works by targeting just one protein found on monkeypox, as well as smallpox and similar viruses. Its use for monkeypox is still considered experimental, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Even a single molecular change to the virus “could have a large impact on the antiviral activity of TPOXX,” the FDA said in an online update.
