Hopes
of a breakthrough in the fight against Ebola have been raised by the
100 per cent successful treatment of monkeys with the deadly disease.
According to a new research published in a special report on Nature
journal's website, the experimental drug ZMapp cured the animals even
when administered five days after infection, while they were displaying
severe symptoms. All 18 rhesus macaques made a complete recovery, in
contrast to three other untreated monkeys that quickly fell seriously
ill and died.
ZMapp is a blend of three laboratory-made
antibodies designed to neutralise the virus.Two U.S. doctors given the
drug after they were infected with Ebola while working in Liberia
subsequently recovered. But it is not known whether they were saved by
the drug or just lucky. About 45 per cent of those infected in the
current outbreak have survived without treatment. At least two other
patients treated with ZMapp have died, possibly because help got to them
too late.
A team of scientists led by Dr Gary Kobinger, from the Public Health Agency of Canada, wrote:
'ZMapp
exceeds the efficacy of any other therapeutics described so far, and
results warrant further development of this cocktail for clinical use.
We hope that initial safety testing in humans will be undertaken soon,
preferably within the next few months, to enable the compassionate use
of ZMapp as soon as possible.'
The news follows a warning
from the World Health Organisation (WHO) that the Ebola outbreak in West
Africa could eventually claim more than 20,000 victims. -
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