It has been revealed the fact that the FDA has just approved an at-home treatment for a highly contagious viral skin infection. Check out the latest reports about this below.
FDA approves at-home treatment for contagious viral skin infection
A new at-home treatment for molluscum contagiosum, a viral skin infection that is highly contagious and mainly affects children, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
The infection is common in children but can also affect adults. It is characterized by painless bumps of different sizes that are round, firm, and can be itchy or painful. Scratching or removing the bumps can cause them to bleed.
The bumps are commonly found on a child’s face, trunk, arms, or legs. In adults, they may also appear on the genitals, lower abdomen, or inner thighs if the infection is contracted through sexual intercourse.
The virus is transmitted through direct skin-to-skin contact, especially if the bumps are scratched and open up. It can also spread indirectly through swimming pools, toys, razors, or tattoo supplies. If left untreated, the bumps can last between six months and two years.
Molluscum contagiosum, also known as water warts, is a viral skin infection that affects around 6 million Americans per year, with most of them being children.
Shockingly, about 73 percent of people infected with this condition remain untreated. However, Ligand Pharmaceuticals has introduced a new treatment called Zelsuvmi, which contains a nitric oxide-releasing agent that has antiviral properties.
Although the exact mechanism of action of Zelsuvmi is unknown, clinical trials have shown that it can reduce the number of bumps in patients when applied once a day, according to the manufacturer’s press release.
The most frequently reported adverse effects of the medication are skin reactions at the application site, such as allergic dermatitis.
“The approval of Zelsuvmi is a breakthrough, marking the first time that clinicians can treat molluscum with an efficacious topical prescription medication that is applied by the patient, or a family member,” Dr. Mark D. Kaufmann, a clinical professor of dermatology in the Department of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and former president of the American Academy of Dermatology, said in the press release.
“I look forward to having this novel medication to treat my molluscum patients.”
Zelsuvmi, the first new drug of 2024, has been approved, following the approval of a physician-administered medication in July 2023. This medication consists of a single-use applicator of cantharidin, a natural toxin found in the blistering beetle.
Cantharidin has been used for centuries by the Chinese to treat various illnesses, and since the 1950s, it has also been used to treat warts. However, the FDA removed it from the US market in 1962 after requiring manufacturers to submit efficacy data.
