Zmapp didn’t cure me, God did! Dr. Brantly, American Ebola survivor

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><img alt="Brantly" class="attachment-thumbnail-single-image wp-post-image" height="409" src="http://ynaija.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Brantly.jpg" width="615" /></span></div> <div class="entry"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><i><br /></i>Kent Brantly, the American doctor who got infected with the deadly Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia has declared that his healing is because of God, and not experimental drug, Zmapp.<br />The doctor had been hospitalised at Emory University Hospital, United States of America, since contracting Ebola in Liberia almost a month ago.<br />Speaking earlier from his room in the isolation ward, Dr. Brantly said God saved his life. “God saved my life”. “Above all, I am forever thankful to God for sparing my life,” he said.<br />After his discharge, he echoed the God-factor via a video posted online on Friday, 22 August, where he was effusive in his praises to Him for sparing his life.<br />He said, “Today is a miraculous day. I am thrilled to be alive, to be well and to be reunited with my family. As I lay in bed in Liberia for the following nine days, getting sicker and weaker each day, I prayed that God<br /><a href="" name="more"></a>would help me be faithful, even in my illness.”<br />He also thanked the millions of people around the would who prayed for him while he was being treated.<br />“And I prayed that in my life or in my death that he would be glorified. I did not know then, but have learned since, that there were thousands, maybe even millions of people around the world praying for me throughout that week and even till today. I cannot thank you enough for your prayers and your support, but what I can tell you is that I serve a faithful God who answers prayers.”<br />According to the World Health Organisation, over 1,300 people have been killed by the virus in West Africa, and more than 2,473 people have contracted the disease.</span></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div>

Zmapp didn’t cure me, God did! Dr. Brantly, American Ebola survivor

Kent Brantly, the American doctor who got infected with the deadly Ebola Virus Disease in Liberia has declared that his healing is becau...

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Ebola: Why U.S. won't give Nigeria experimental drug, Zmapp — U.S. Ambassador

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6898470381004524941" itemprop="description articleBody" style="position: relative; width: 670px;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxy1PA14eIN9oKDOGxDahXpvw61W6bjeiXmyXGvrXRxIKCphWLPpjyUwjsfMB-PquBcd8rr6MrXKEGq0daulOV38dSda2CtQ6G3R2Kn3LUztKXAa90XF195f3ZHLXyiuZdjh2S2jzhmA/s1600/US-ambassador-and-nig-min-of-health-1726x1080.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaxy1PA14eIN9oKDOGxDahXpvw61W6bjeiXmyXGvrXRxIKCphWLPpjyUwjsfMB-PquBcd8rr6MrXKEGq0daulOV38dSda2CtQ6G3R2Kn3LUztKXAa90XF195f3ZHLXyiuZdjh2S2jzhmA/s1600/US-ambassador-and-nig-min-of-health-1726x1080.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></span></a></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The American Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, on Monday said his country was not yet in a position to make the Ebola Disease experimental drug, Zmapp, available to Nigeria. Mr. Entwistle said during a visit to the Nigerian Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, that the drug was not yet available in sufficient quantity to go round all the countries requesting it. The ambassador did not say when the drug would be available for Africa’s most populous country. He only advised the Nigerian health ministry to focus on isolation, screening and prevention. Mr. Entwistle commended the efforts of the Federal Government in curbing the spread of the Ebola virus in the country.<br /><br />He said the aim of the visit was to discuss further on the anti-Ebola cooperation between the U.S government and the Nigerian government. The ambassador also praised the work done at the emergency operation centre and the isolation centre, saying he understood that they were working hard. “You have all seen the headlines over the weekend, this is an issue that we have to keep working hard on, it may be with us for a while but there are some encouraging signs.<br /><br />“Your government is doing a good job on contact tracing; I noticed when I flew back here on Thursday night into the country, before I left the plane I filed in the questionnaire. “I was very impressed because I had to put in my seat number which is a very good idea, so that if you have to trace the guy who was seating next to me you will know where I am. “I have been very impressed by this thing so I encourage the government of Nigeria to keep at it, which I know they will,” he said. Mr.Entwistle said the two countries had a broad partnership to keep collaborating, cooperating and working hard to make the world a better place. He said he could not think of a more important example of cooperation than the Ebola cooperation. Speaking during the visit, the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, said the Nigerian Government was withholding its approval for the Anti-Ebola drug Nano-Silver produced by a Nigerian because it did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code. He said that the Nano Silver drug, which was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos on August 14, did not meet basic research requirements. “The experimental drug, Nano Silver did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code. “Accordingly, the approval was withheld by the National Health Research Ethics Committee,” Mr. Chukwu said. He said the ambassador’s visit was an opportunity to share ideas and information on Ebola virus. “He is the spokesperson for the United States’ government here in Nigeria, and so he came to me as the Chief Public Health Officer of the country to exchange views with me,” Mr. Chukwu said. The minister said Mr. Entwistle also visited to know if there was any new development that recently cropped up on the Ebola virus.</span></div> </div>

Ebola: Why U.S. won't give Nigeria experimental drug, Zmapp — U.S. Ambassador

The American Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, on Monday said his country was not yet in a position to make the Ebola Disease expe...

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Hypocrisy of America’s experimental Ebola drug – Theophilus Ilevbare

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template" itemprop="blogPost" itemscope="itemscope" itemtype="http://schema.org/BlogPosting" style="margin: 0px 0px 25px; min-height: 0px; position: relative;"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3004702607004700967" itemprop="description articleBody" style="position: relative; width: 670px;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefMlarMZEw6CKlfYBJvKD1emIYCHBD3cYh9tGylVPSwK2DYmxc5OsITFVZoES65tiW0L5xJHnZVMDugJ95OR_o9datbNUSfFo1vjYt3vSgp3lXMV5ImTwGKrTc4fFXnx47DPNZoaMjbQ/s1600/article_img.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjefMlarMZEw6CKlfYBJvKD1emIYCHBD3cYh9tGylVPSwK2DYmxc5OsITFVZoES65tiW0L5xJHnZVMDugJ95OR_o9datbNUSfFo1vjYt3vSgp3lXMV5ImTwGKrTc4fFXnx47DPNZoaMjbQ/s1600/article_img.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; border: 1px solid rgb(255, 255, 255); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.0980392) 1px 1px 5px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></span></a></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-3004702607004700967" itemprop="description articleBody" style="position: relative; width: 670px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> These days, nothing strikes a bout of panic and paranoia than the thought of Ebola Virus Disease. It’s been decades since a disease or calamity of such proportions threatened our relationships, businesses, sports and our very existence.<br /><br />In the midst of all the trepidation came a ray of hope – an experimental secret serum, manufactured by California based Biopharmaceutical giant, Mapp. It has been administered to two Americans and a Spanish Priest (first European), all infected in Liberia. The Priest lost the battle against Ebola despite receiving the experimental solution after he was flown back to his country, Spain. However, the health of Dr Kent Brantly and missionary aid worker, Nancy Writebol, has improved tremendously to reinforce the efficacy of the drug, ZMapp. After the malady had claimed the lives of over a 1000 people in Africa with just about the same number presently inflicted with the disease, the American government in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO), on compassionate grounds, sent experimental samples to Liberia for trials on Ebola patients.<br /><br />It is puzzling why over a thousand Africans had to die before talks of a vaccine hit the airwaves. It is safe to conclude that had the two Americans not contracted the virus we won’t be close to any drug of any sort. Before now, the research for a cure has been shrouded in secrecy by the Americans. That the ailment had no cure and is a fast moving outbreak gives a technical knockout to the argument of ethics – that the vaccine should first be tested on compatriots of the researchers and manufacturers in America.<br /><br />The laboratories of American pharmaceutical companies were not short of promising research experiments of vaccines or drugs. They weren’t eager to develop a vaccine if they aren’t sure who would buy it. With just over a thousand deaths, it’s just a blip compared to the mortality rate of other diseases. For instance, Malaria kills a child every minute. Compare the death rate of Malaria with other deadly diseases you’ll discover why GlaxoSmithKline and other Pharmaceutical giants are making billion dollar investments, researching and working day and night for vaccines for malaria. Ebola is horrifying, but it’s also sporadic — between the big 2001 outbreak and this one, only a few dozen people have gotten sick every year or two. The current outbreak has spread among a handful of poor countries that all have weak health infrastructure. America and the rest of the developed world knew the deadly disease had no known cure but since it has mainly been affecting only Africans in several outbreaks since 1976 it wasn’t worth any serious research investment.<br /><br />Ebola vaccine not the answer?<br /><br />But even if any of the drugs on trial works, it would be a stretch to say we could confidently use it to prevent another Ebola outbreak.  The experimental Ebola vaccine, ZMapp, or any other one for that matter, it appears might not even be the answer to the ravaging strain of the virus. A well-funded and researched vaccine would have done the magic like it was the case for smallpox and polio which put an abrupt end to outbreaks.<br /><br />The exigency of a cure for the scourge has made relevant authorities approve the use of some experiment solutions on compassionate grounds. Anyone receiving a rushed mass vaccine like this is putting an enormous amount of trust in Pharmaceutical companies and the government because there is no way to know the long term effects of the disease. It can’t be easily ascertained at the moment. The fears of its long term effect exist no matter how infinitesimal it might seem. The memory of all the kids, who now suffer from a severe form of narcolepsy due to the swine flu vaccine that was hurriedly created a few years ago, remains evergreen.<br /><br />Before we can say uhuru, the efficacy of such a drug should cut across the various strains of Ebola. The current outbreak is the Zaire virus, but previous outbreaks were Sudan and Cote d’Ivoire strains. The drugs being bandied about might not be the quintessential Ebola elixir that we crave. Most of the experimental drugs are solutions to fight the Zaire virus strain. These experimental drugs can kill the present virus in the body system and prevent it from infecting others but it does not in any way make us completely immune from the virus, that is, another outbreak.<br /><br />Containing the scourge would have been much easier with vaccination at the early stage of the outbreak; it is difficult to stop the epidemic in fast moving diseases like Ebola. According to Community Health professionals, most vaccines take a few weeks to provide immunity, and even then, they don’t always control the disease spread. A recent WHO statement submitted that even if any of the drug or vaccine is successful, it will take at least six months to contain the outbreak.<br /><br />During the early weeks of the pestilence, villagers in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea blocked streets, preventing doctors and health workers from gaining access to Ebola patients. This will pose a problem to vaccination if it eventually becomes available. We heard on good report that at a point, soldiers were deployed to hospitals to prevent locals from forcefully taking away Ebola patients. There are still remote villages and communities in Nigeria that resist polio vaccination. They see it as an unwarranted intrusion from the ‘white man’. Imagine what would happen if we tried to pre-emptively vaccinate thousands of people who not only are skeptical of Western medicine but have never heard of Ebola.<br /><br />Fighting the epidemic must involve a multi-pronged drug. ZMapp serum, other drugs from Canada and the one by some Nigerian doctors in the diaspora, focuses on eradicating the disease after infection. What the global community needs is a vaccine to prevent the infection from getting into the body, that is the development of antibodies within the subject rather than injecting them from outside the body.<br /><br />The serum is by no means the end of Ebola but it leads us away from ineffective containment of the deadly virus disease. The use of vaccine or drug might not be the fastest way we bring the spread of this highly infectious malady to a stop. Nevertheless, the Ebola story is not all gloomy as 40 percent of victims are surviving.<br /><br />For now, Ebola patients will jump at the chance to live free of the virus than worry about any side effects in the long term or another outbreak in the future.<br /><br />This is hoping that these limited doses of the vaccine will not distract and ultimately derail effort to curb the frenzied outbreak using tried, tested and true methods like rapid identification and isolation of the sick and providing basic supportive care for patients, finding and educating who’s been in contact with them and strict hospital infection control. With these, Ebola can slowly but surely be driven away.<br /><br /><i>The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of eberesamuel.blogspot.com</i></span><div style="clear: both;"> </div> </div> <div class="post-footer" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(102, 0, 0); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; margin: 20px -2px 0px; padding: 5px 10px;"> <div class="post-footer-line post-footer-line-1"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><div class="post-share-buttons goog-inline-block" style="display: inline-block; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0.5em; position: relative; vertical-align: middle;"> <div class="goog-inline-block dummy-container" style="display: inline-block; padding-left: 0.3em; position: relative; vertical-align: top;"> <div id="___plusone_0" style="border-style: none; display: inline-block; float: none; height: 20px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 300px;"> <iframe data-gapiattached="true" frameborder="0" hspace="0" id="I0_1408275741353" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" name="I0_1408275741353" scrolling="no" src="https://apis.google.com/u/0/se/0/_/+1/fastbutton?usegapi=1&source=blogger%3Ablog%3Aplusone&size=medium&width=300&annotation=inline&origin=http%3A%2F%2Fekpoesitonse.blogspot.co.uk&url=http%3A%2F%2Fekpoesitonse.blogspot.com%2F2014%2F08%2Fhypocrisy-of-americas-experimental.html&gsrc=3p&ic=1&jsh=m%3B%2F_%2Fscs%2Fapps-static%2F_%2Fjs%2Fk%3Doz.gapi.en.Y7yo-hE6f2w.O%2Fm%3D__features__%2Fam%3DAQ%2Frt%3Dj%2Fd%3D1%2Ft%3Dzcms%2Frs%3DAItRSTOCCewNInyW1jNvLdupkCgdxhOtiQ#_methods=onPlusOne%2C_ready%2C_close%2C_open%2C_resizeMe%2C_renderstart%2Concircled%2Cdrefresh%2Cerefresh&id=I0_1408275741353&parent=http%3A%2F%2Fekpoesitonse.blogspot.co.uk&pfname=&rpctoken=39564290" style="border-style: none; height: 20px; left: 0px; margin: 0px; position: static; top: 0px; visibility: visible; width: 300px;" tabindex="0" title="+1" vspace="0" width="100%"></iframe></div> </div> </div> </span></div> </div> </div> </div>

Hypocrisy of America’s experimental Ebola drug – Theophilus Ilevbare

These days, nothing strikes a bout of panic and paranoia than the thought of Ebola Virus Disease. It’s been decades since a disease o...

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Nigeria approves use of experimental drug, Zmapp, on Ebola patients

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="post-body entry-content" id="post-body-6092016042705633442" itemprop="description articleBody" style="position: relative; width: 616px;"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteyagmxWJNBW56Fahc7YhPa7rlsuwTO4mblAGP6ffNyEHPusObbv3Q7CWFvBb0G0sM6NKYuH5zoS1W-QkruGgR6LhlNCiRSoynXj7l2f_bkt5n_EOTEiiXVQzR1h0MgzfbhcbVHiRIAg/s1600/0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiteyagmxWJNBW56Fahc7YhPa7rlsuwTO4mblAGP6ffNyEHPusObbv3Q7CWFvBb0G0sM6NKYuH5zoS1W-QkruGgR6LhlNCiRSoynXj7l2f_bkt5n_EOTEiiXVQzR1h0MgzfbhcbVHiRIAg/s1600/0.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(153, 0, 0); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" /></span></a></div> <div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The National Health Research Ethics Committee, Nigeria, has approved the use of an experimental Ebola drug, Zmapp, for treatment of patients infected with the virus.<span style="font-style: inherit;"> The committee, which composed research scientists, is a national body under the Federal Ministry of Health.</span></span></div> <div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">The endorsement is contained in a statement issued to newsmen by Prof. <strong>Clement Adebamowo,</strong>Chairman of the committee <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_91358595" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">on Wednesday</span></span> in Abuja. Continue...</span></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;"></span></div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><a href="" name="more"></a><br /></span><div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">The decision by the committee is coming on the heels of <span class="aBn" data-term="goog_91358596" tabindex="0"><span class="aQJ">Tuesday’s</span></span> approval by the World Health Organisation (WHO) on the use of Zmapp for treatment of Ebola patients.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">“It is ethical to use these treatments in the current situation without first submitting an application to National, State or Institutional Health Research Ethics Committee for prior review and approval.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">“In addition, the Committee waives the current requirement that international shipment of any biological samples out of Nigeria should be preceded by the establishment of a Materials Transfer Agreement.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">“This waiver is to promote rapid international response to this global emergency,’’ the statement said.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">In the statement, the Nigerian National Code for Health Research Ethics emphasised that all innovative and non-validated treatments should be carefully and adequately documented.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">According to the statement, the documentation can form the basis for clinical trials of the efficacy and side effects of the treatment according to established scientific principles.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">In the statement, the ethics committee enjoined all agencies, development partners and research scientists to follow the guideline for the rapid resolution of the current emergency.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">“The guideline will contribute to preparedness in case of future occurrences and contribution to scientific knowledge.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">“It must be noted that all Phase O and Phase I Clinical Trials that may subsequently be designed for treatment of this infection can be approved only by the National Health Research Ethics Committee,’’ it said. </span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br /></span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: inherit;">Source: NAN</span></div> </div> </div> </div>

Nigeria approves use of experimental drug, Zmapp, on Ebola patients

The National Health Research Ethics Committee, Nigeria, has approved the use of an experimental Ebola drug, Zmapp, for treatment of pat...

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Nine questions about new Ebola drug

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <h1 class="entry-title posttitle" itemprop="name headline" style="border: 0px; margin: 10px 0px 30px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 2462px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Two American missionary workers infected with the deadly Ebola virus were given an experimental drug that seems to have saved their lives.</span></h1> <div id="entryContainer" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div class="entry entry-content" itemprop="articleBody" style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 6px 0px 0px; text-align: justify; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Dr. Kent Brantly was given the medication, ZMapp, shortly after telling his doctors he thought he would die, according to a source familiar with his case. Within an hour, doctors say his symptoms — labored breathing and a widespread rash — dramatically improved. Nancy Writebol, another missionary working with Samaritan’s Purse, received two doses of the medication and has also shown significant improvement, sources say.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">As there is no proven treatment and no vaccine for Ebola, this experimental drug is raising lots of questions.</span></div> <br /> <div class="wp-caption alignleft" id="attachment_458445" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px 20px 20px 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline; width: 422px;"> <div style="text-align: left;"> <a href="http://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Ebola-doc.gif" style="-webkit-transition: background-color, border-top-color; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: background-color, border-top-color; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="Health workers evacuating the remains of an Ebola Virus Disease victim." class="wp-image-458445 size-full" height="274" src="http://dvsl3w2q45hb8.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Ebola-doc.gif" style="-webkit-transition: margin 0.2s linear, box-shadow; border: none; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.247059) 1px 1px 1px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; transition: margin 0.2s linear, box-shadow;" width="412" /></span></a></div> <div class="wp-caption-text" style="border: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 8px 0px 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Health workers evacuating the remains of an Ebola Virus Disease victim.</span></div> </div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">1. Who makes the drug?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The drug was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., which is based in San Diego. The company was founded in 2003 “to develop novel pharmaceuticals for the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, focusing on unmet needs in global health and biodefense,” according to its website.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Mapp Biopharmaceutical has been working with the National Institutes of Health and the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, an arm of the military responsible for countering weapons of mass destruction, to develop an Ebola treatment for several years.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">2. Are there other experimental Ebola drugs out there?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yes. In March, the NIH awarded a five-year, $28 million grant to establish a collaboration between researchers from 15 institutions who were working to fight Ebola.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“A whole menu of antibodies have been identified as potentially therapeutic, and researchers are eager to figure out which combinations are most effective and why,” a news release about the grant said.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tekmira, a Vancouver-based company that has a $140 million contract with the U.S. Department of Defense to develop an Ebola drug, began Phase 1 trials with its drug in January. But the FDA recently halted the trial, asking for more information.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">At least one potential Ebola vaccine has been tested in healthy human volunteers, according to Thomas Geisbert, a leading researcher at the University of Texas Medical Branch. And last week, the NIH announced a safety trial of another Ebola vaccine will start as early as September.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">3. How does ZMapp work?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Antibodies are proteins used by the immune system to mark and destroy foreign, or harmful, cells. A monoclonal antibody is similar, except it’s engineered in a lab so it will attach to specific parts of a dangerous cell, according to the Mayo Clinic, mimicking your immune system’s natural response. Monoclonal antibodies are used to treat many different types of conditions.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The medicine given to Brantly and Writebol abroad was a three-mouse monoclonal antibody, meaning that mice were exposed to fragments of the Ebola virus and then the antibodies generated within the mice’s blood were harvested to create the medicine.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">However, the drug can also be produced with proteins made from tobacco plants. ZMapp manufacturer Kentucky BioProcessing in Owensboro has been working with Samaritan’s Purse and Emory University Hospital to provide limited quantities of the drug to Emory, according to company spokesman David Howard.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">4. Why did American missionary workers get the drug?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Many have asked why these two workers received the experimental drug when so many — around 1,600 — others in West Africa also have the virus.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The World Health Organization says it was not involved in the decision to treat Brantly and Writebol. Both patients had to give consent to receive the drug, knowing it had never been tested in humans before.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The process by which the medication was made available to the American patients may have fallen under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s “compassionate use” regulation, which allows access to investigational drugs outside clinical trials.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">5. Did doctors know it would work?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">No. The drug had shown promise in primates, but even in those experiments, just eight monkeys received the treatment. In any case, the human immune system can react differently than primates’, which is why drugs are required to undergo human clinical trials before being approved by government agencies for widespread use.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The two Americans’ cases will be studied further to determine how the drug worked with their immune systems.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">6. Will the drug be made available to other Ebola patients?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">It’s unclear. Rolling out an untested drug during a massive outbreak would be very difficult, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. Experimental drugs typically not mass-produced, and tracking the success of such a drug if used would require extra medical staff where resources are already scarce.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says scientists have to be careful about assuming this drug will work in other patients as it appears to have worked in Brantly.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“Having worked with administering antibodies for people for a really long time, that would be distinctly unusual,” he told CNN. “As we all know in medicine … you have to withhold judgment.”</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">7. Does the company have more vials of the drug?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The company has very few doses ready for patient use, Fauci told CNN.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">“(Kentucky BioProcessing) is working closely with Mapp, various government agencies, and other parties to increase production of ZMapp, but this process will take several months,” Howard said.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">8. Who paid for the drug and how much did it cost?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">We don’t know. Samaritan’s Purse covered the cost of Brantly and Writebol’s evacuations but did not pay for the drug, according to a spokesman.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">When a patient gets an experimental drug, the drug company can donate the product under compassionate use. Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. might have done that in this case.</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Health insurance companies typically do not pick up the tab for treatments that have not been approved by the FDA. But they usually would cover the cost of any doctor fees associated with giving the drug and any costs associated with monitoring how the drug is working.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">9. Would this drug stop the Ebola epidemic?</span></div> <div style="text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">If it were widely available, it certainly couldn’t hurt. An effective Ebola drug could help doctors treat the deadly virus, which is killing about 60% of the people infected in West Africa. But a vaccine would be a much more effective tool in stopping this, and future, epidemics.</span></div> <br /> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Vaccines are given to healthy people to prevent them from ever becoming infected. One challenge with Ebola, experts say, is that companies don’t believe they could make much money from developing a vaccine, so few companies show interest.</span></div> <div style="border: 0px; margin-bottom: 15px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">*Source: CNN</span></div> <div class="OUTBRAIN" data-browser="safari" data-dynload="" data-ob-mark="true" data-os="ipad" data-src="http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/nine-questions-new-ebola-drug/" id="outbrain_widget_0" obdone="true" style="border: 0px; clear: both; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 5px 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <div class="ob_brnBox_cont NA" style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"> <span class="ob_empty" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); border: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><wbr style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></wbr></span><span class="ob_org_header" style="border: 0px; float: left; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 600; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px; text-align: left; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></div> </div> </div> </div> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2014/08/nine-questions-new-ebola-drug/#sthash.2eWIM9Po.dpuf</span></div>

Nine questions about new Ebola drug

Two American missionary workers infected with the deadly Ebola virus were given an experimental drug that seems to have saved their lives....

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