Antiviral drug discovery and development for Mayaro Fever - What do we have so far?

Tropical infectious diseases cause millions of deaths every year in developing countries with about half of the world population living at risk. Mayaro virus (MAYV) is an emerging arbovirus that causes Mayaro fever, which is characterized by fever, headache, diarrhea, arthralgia and rash. These symptoms can be clinically indistinguishable from other arboviruses, such as Dengue, Zika and Chikungunya, which makes the diagnosis and treatment of the disease more difficult. Though, Mayaro virus is a potential candidate to cause large-scale epidemics on the scale of ZIKV and CHIKV. Despite this, there is no licensed vaccine or antiviral for the treatment of Mayaro fever and for most arboviruses, so the design and development of candidates for antiviral drugs are urgently needed. In this context, this mini review aims to provide an overview towards studies of anti-MAYV derivatives and highlight the importance of the discovery and development of promising drug candidates for Mayaro fever.