NEW DELHI: Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology IIT ) in Roorkee -working to develop a cure for Chikungunya -have discovered the anti-viral properties of the drug piperazine, and determined the mechanism to combat the disease. The findings have been published in the ` Antiviral Research ' journal by the Elsevier group.Chikungunya is an infectious viral disease which is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes infected with the virus. There is no vaccine or antiviral drug available in the market for the cure of chikungunya currently. ""Our research has showed that piperazine, a drug existing in the market, is successful in curbing the spread and replication of the Chikungunya virus in a lab setting. This inhibition of this pocket prevents budding and spread of the virus and can help in treating the virus effectively using existing drugs.

Source: Times of India October 06, 2017 02:24 UTC