Animal studies showed that squalamine controlled infections of yellow fever, Eastern equine encephalitis virus, and murine cytomegalovirus. In some cases, the animals were cured.

Squalamine appears to protect against viruses that attack the liver and blood tissues, and other similar compounds that we know exist in the shark likely protect against respiratory viral infections, and so on.

We may be able to harness the shark's novel immune system to turn all of these antiviral compounds into agents that protect humans against a wide variety of viruses. That would be revolutionary, lead researcher Prof Michael Zasloff said:

Because squalamine can be readily synthesized and has a known safety profile in man, the researchers believe its potential as a broad-spectrum human antiviral agent should be explored.

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