Addressing bottlenecks in Lassa fever treatment: overcoming the ribavirin parenteral formulation challenge.

Ribavirin ampoule formulation remains a major challenge in managing Lassa fever disease. Lassa fever is an endemic viral hemorrhagic fever in the West Africa subregion, which has high-dose ribavirin as the standard of care. The high-dose therapy required makes the 200 mg/ml ampoule dosing of ribavirin a daunting task to administer, especially during disease outbreaks.

Pharmacokinetics of Ribavirin in the Treatment of Lassa Fever: An Observational Clinical Study at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Nigeria.

Background: Lassa fever is endemic in large parts of West Africa. The recommended antiviral treatment is ribavirin. Two treatment regimens are currently endorsed in Nigeria: the "McCormick regimen" based on a study published in 1986 and the "Irrua regimen" constituting a simplified schedule developed at the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.