Mumps virus (MuV) is a highly infectious paramyxovirus closely related to measles virus (MeV).
Despite the availability of a mumps vaccine, outbreaks continue to occur and no treatment options are available. Vitamin A and other naturally occurring retinoids inhibit the replication of MeV in vitro.
[Our] observations raise the possibility that pharmacological doses of retinoids might have clinical benefit in MuV infection.
In the last 2 decades, many studies have documented the beneficial effects of vitamin A supplements on general mortality and/or morbidity in young children in a wide range of developing countries.
In 2000, a meta-analysis of eight studies demonstrated an overall 30% reduction in infant mortality attributable to vitamin A supplements.
A surprising spin-off from these vitamin A supplementation studies was the re-discovery that vitamin A ‘treatment’ can significantly decrease the morbidity and mortality associated with acute MeV infection.
Since the mid-1990s, the WHO and UNICEF have recommended vitamin A treatment for acute measles in regions of the developing world with high mortality rates.
Vitamin A (retinol) is a fat-soluble vitamin. Its natural and synthetic derivatives as well as metabolites are collectively referred to as retinoids.
The potential role of individual micronutrients in specific infectious diseases has been the subject of considerable interest for decades.
To our knowledge, retinol (Vitamin A) is currently the only micronutrient routinely used to ‘treat’ a viral disease. In fact, both vitamin A supplementation and therapy appear to have significant clinical benefit in natural MeV infection.
This is the first work to demonstrate the antiviral effect of vitamin A on MuV and may contribute to better treatment options for MuV.