Ebola Outbreak: Ebola & Travel Health Related Updates

Ebola Outbreak: Ebola & Travel Health Related Updates: Ebola Outbreaks – Updates: Ebola - the cap of 5.000 deaths is exceeded: The number of deaths due to the epidemic of hemorrhagic f...

Ebola & Travel Health Related Updates

Ebola Outbreaks – Updates:

Ebola - the cap of 5.000 deaths is exceeded: The number of deaths due to the epidemic of hemorrhagic fever Ebola exceeded the cap 5.000, with 5.160 deaths recorded for 14.098 cases, according to the last balance of the World Health Organization (WHO). This information was issued on Wednesday, November 9^th.  

UN sees Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea at the verge of a food crisis: The principal expert of the UN in right to the feeding, Hilal Elver, today ensured that Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the countries that suffer the epidemic of the Ebola, are "at the verge of a serious food crisis." In those countries there are more than one million people who they need assistance in food to mitigate the lack of supply of commodities, pointed out in Geneva the special rapporteur of United Nations for the Right to the Feeding. Agriculture is the principal economic activity in West Africa, where two-thirds of the population depend on her. In that context, "the closing of borders and maritime steps, the reduction of the intraregional trade, the slope of the foreign investments, and the reduction of the purchasing power of tens of thousands of already vulnerable homes leaves those countries in very precarious situation", aimed Elver. The problem of food supplies has also had to do with the quarantine imposed by the governments of the three countries in different areas affected by the epidemic. That measure has left isolated and disabled entire communities to be supplied of essential food. Furthermore, many lands have remained abandoned since the farmers have fled for fear, which in turn it has reduced the crop production and it has caused that the prices of the food are shot. The World Food Program, the largest humanitarian agency of the UN, today announced that Germany has become its first donor for the concrete objective of fueling the communities affected by the Ebola. The organism specified that has received more than 30 million dollars of the German Government in order to finance the growing need for food in the areas where it circulates the virus and where already has succeeded providing food to 1.3 million people.

Canada - Begins to isolate people who have been in areas with the Ebola: Canada today began to isolate those people who have traveled to Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia during the pasts 21 days, as a part of the hardening of the measures to prevent the emergence of Ebola outbreaks in the country.
The Canadian Government announced yesterday Monday that "it will order to the travelers with a history of trips to Guinea, Sierra Leone, or Liberia during the pasts 21 days that go to the local health authorities in Canada and are auto monitored during a maximum of 21 days", incubation period of the disease.
"The travelers with a history of trips to countries affected by the Ebola that to its arrival in Canada symptoms present will be immediately isolated and sent to a hospital for its examination medical", they added the health authorities. Canada has been criticized for the World Health Organization (WHO) by the measures that it has imposed as a result of the appearance of the Ebola outbreak in the countries of West Africa. At the end of October, the Government of the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, announced that it will deny the visa from entry to the country to those people who have been in the countries most affected by the Ebola epidemic. WHO and international experts have pointed out that the measures adopted by the Canadian Government violate the Sanitary International Regulation adopted by 196 countries in order to strengthen national, regional, and global health security. Canada has replicated that, as the denial of visa does not affect Canadians, cannot be interpreted as a general prohibition that contravenes the Sanitary International Regulation. Paradoxically, the Sanitary International Regulation was reviewed after Canada suffered from in 2003 a severe outbreak of so-called `Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome` (`SARS`), that forced WHO to temporarily recommend that one did not travel to Toronto, where more than 40 people died. The recommendation, that was criticized for Canada, caused that the Canadian authorities requested to review the Sanitary International Regulation in order to avoid the imposition of prohibitions of trip.

Mali - New case of Ebola unrelated to the previous: Mali recorded a new fatal case of Ebola, unrelated to one previous, and just when they had raised the quarantine to 25 likely people to have infected with the virus. The victim is a nurse "who was in contact with an of Equatorial Guinea citizen who died because of the disease" indicated to AFP the one responsible for the clinic Pasteur in Bamako.

WHO adopts protocol for safe and dignified burial of people who die from Ebola: A new World Health Organization (WHO) protocol for safe and dignified burial of people who die from Ebola virus disease emphasizes inclusion of family members and encouraging religious rites as an essential part of safe burials. Ebola infections occur during burials when family and community members perform religious rites that require directly touching or washing the body, which still contains high levels of Ebola virus; and when family members distribute personal property of the loved one, which may be infected with the virus. Developed by an interdisciplinary team at WHO, in partnership with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and faith-based organizations including World Council of Churches, Islamic Relief, Caritas International and World Vision, this updated protocol outlines step-by-step processes for safe and dignified burials. The protocol encourages inclusion of family and local clergy in the planning and preparation of the burial, as well as at the burial event itself, giving specific instructions for Muslim and Christian burials. A team of medical anthropologists also contributed meaningful, safe alternatives for touching and bathing dead bodies, developed from research into the cultural significance and values of burial practices in affected countries. The research included consultations with religious leaders in affected countries to define what is meant by "dignified burial" in both the Muslim and Christian context. The protocol also includes ways for Ebola burial teams to carry out their work safely while respecting family sensitivities. These include abstaining from wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) when first meeting with the family, and asking the family if there are specific requests for managing the burial and personal effects of the deceased. As the protocol is applied in affected countries, feedback from religious leaders, communities and people managing burials will be used to update and improve the protocol.

Other Health Related Updates:

Brazil – Dengue fever cases: São Paulo already recorded 193 thousand cases: The State of Sao Paulo recorded over 193,239 cases of the mosquito-borne dengue fever, with 186,389 cases qualified as “indigenous” i.e. they were transmitted within the State itself from January until October 2014. To date, there was 23 cases of Chikungunya, all imported, which 12 were in Campinas, in the interior of Sao Paulo, and 6 in the capital.

Portugal - Head of health board addresses Legionnaire’s disease outbreak – update: Four people have now died and 24 others are said to be in critical condition following an outbreak of Legionella in Portugal, which causes Legionnaire's disease. The majority of cases so far have emerged from the central Portuguese region of Vila Franca de Xira and are being treated in hospitals in the Greater Lisbon area. In a press conference yesterday afternoon the head of Portugal’s health board Francisco George recommended people take baths instead of showers and avoid Jacuzzis and hydro-massage tubs until the source of the outbreak is known. In 24 hours the number of people in this country believed to be infected with Legionnaires Disease, caught by inhaling water particles, has soared to close to 120. One of the victims who died from the infection, a 59-year-old man, reportedly had other pre-existing lung and breathing conditions which lent added complications. Portuguese specialists have said the outbreak is unexpected and very unusual.

From Around the World

Virus found in green algae affects human mental capacities: A virus that affects the green algae--some of which are foods--alters slightly some mental capacities in humans, revealed American studies that pointed out that at present should not be considered a danger for the public health. The agency, called ATCV-1 (Acanthocystis turfacea Chlorella), until now thoughtful harmless, was discovered in the throat of people in good health condition and that apparently "had a set of affected cognitive functions, among them those responsible" for "processing of visual information and by the sense of the orientation."
These preliminary results, recently published in the proceedings of the Academy of Sciences of the United States, illustrate the capacity of certain microorganisms to induce psychological alterations without inducing a disease, explained the researchers. "It is a surprising example, that sample as a microorganism, apparently harmless, present in our body, can affect our behavior and our cognition", said Robert Yolken, virologist of the center hospital university Johns Hopkins, in Baltimore, and principal author of the studies. However, second information provided to AFP, the scientists do not believe that "the virus should be considered a threat to the public health." As a part of another one study, the scientist and its team discovered the presence of virus ATCV-1 by chance, upon analyze DNA of the viruses and bacteria that formed the microbial flora in the throat of 92 healthy people. The viruses, acquaintance to infect the green algae (or clorofíceas) present in the seas, lakes and oceans, was present in 42 of the 92 cases. The infected group had worse results in a series of tests than they measured the speed of processing of visual information by the brain. Immediately, experiences were done in laboratory mice in order to analyze as the virus affected the capacity to carry out certain tasks and they confirmed effects similar to the ones observed in humans. For example, the infected mice presented more difficulty in finding the road in the labyrinth and smaller capacity for attention. An analysis of its cerebral tissues showed changes in the expression of multiple genes in the hippocampus, region of the brain responsible for the memory and spatial orientation.

Coronavirus (MERS) Update:

Saudi Arabia - Camel breeding, weather spread MERS infection: Saudi Arabia's health experts have blamed the camel breeding season for new infections of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in the country. Twenty-four new confirmed MERS cases were registered in November and October respectively, compared with ten cases both in August and July, the command and control center of the Health Ministry said. Dr. Mohammed Halwani, associate professor of contagious diseases at the College of Medicine in Al-Baha University, attributed the case rise to the breeding season of camels. "The newly-born camels have more viruses than the adults. People will infect the virus when they come into contact with them or inhale their nasal secretions," he said. The virus has not been completely wiped out from the kingdom, Halwani said. "It has been in existence since it was discovered in late 2012." The moderate weather in the country nowadays is another factor in the spread of the virus, the professor added. "In cold weather the virus spreads quicker." Saudi Arabia has registered 802 MERS coronavirus cases since the virus was discovered, of which 447 have recovered, 340 died and 15 are still receiving treatment. The oil-rich country has registered the highest number of MERS cases in the world, but the number of new cases has drastically declined thanks to tough measures taken by medical institutions.

Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak - Latest Updates as...

Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak - Latest Updates as...: Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak - Latest Updates as of November 5th... : Sierra Leone extends Ebola state of emergency: The state of emergen...

Latest Updates on Ebola Outbreaks & Other Health Information

EBOLA OUTBREAKS – LATEST UPDATES

Japan – A man with suspected Ebola: A man in his 60s who has recently been in Liberia was sent to a medical institution designated for Ebola treatment in Tokyo on Friday due to his suspected infection with the deadly virus. The man visited a hospital in Machida, Tokyo, on Friday afternoon. He was then transferred to the designated institution later in the day as he had a fever of over 38 degrees Celsius. The health ministry sent his blood samples to the National Institute of Infectious Diseases' facility in Musashimurayama, also Tokyo, for genetic tests for Ebola. The man had stayed in Liberia within the last three weeks, considered the maximum incubation period for the disease. He did not show symptoms such as fever when he arrived at an airport in Japan. Under the quarantine law, the man has since been obliged to report his health conditions twice a day for three weeks. There is no information that the man had contact with Ebola patients during his stay in Liberia, one of the West African countries hit hardest by the Ebola outbreak, informed sources said. At a news conference on Friday afternoon, Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said the possibility is low that the man has Ebola.

United States - Officials unveil plan to test Ebola drugs: The quest for an Ebola treatment is picking up speed. Federal officials have unveiled a plan to test multiple drugs at once, in an umbrella study with a single comparison group to give fast answers on what works.  "This is novel for us" and is an approach pioneered by cancer researchers, said Dr. Luciana Borio, head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Ebola response. "We need to learn what helps and what hurts" and speed treatments to patients, she said. She outlined the plan Wednesday at an American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene conference in New Orleans. Thousands of scientists have crowded into day and late-night sessions on Ebola, which has killed 5,000 West Africans this year. There is no treatment for Ebola, but several experimental ones such as ZMapp have been tried on a few patients, and scientists are eyeing some others that were developed for different conditions but may also fight Ebola. "There's this tremendous urge to want to give people these experimental therapies" but it's crucial to make sure they don't do harm, said the FDA's Dr. Edward Cox. Everyone in the umbrella study would get supportive care, such as intravenous fluids, then be assigned to receive one of several drugs or be in a comparison group. That's needed because without one, there's no way to know if any problems or deaths are from the drug or the disease, Cox said. Instead of waiting until a certain number of patients are treated to look at results, as is usually done, researchers will monitor results as they come in, pairing each person on a drug with someone from the comparison group to see if a pattern can be detected. The National Institutes of Health developed this "learn as you go" plan "to allow a winner to be declared very early," Cox said. He said the FDA could not name the drugs being considered, but said a meeting next week with various companies should crystallize the plans.

United States - CDC increasing supply of Ebola-Specific Personal Protective Equipment for U.S. hospitals: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has ordered $2.7 million in personal protective equipment (PPE) to increase Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) supplies to assist U.S. hospitals caring for Ebola patients. Products are being configured into 50 kits that can be rapidly delivered to hospitals. Each kit can provide the PPE needed by clinical teams to manage the care of one Ebola patient for up to five days. Purchases are based on PPE guidance for caring for Ebola patients that was issued by CDC on October 20. As product is delivered to SNS facilities, it is assembled into kits by SNS personnel. The kits can be rapidly delivered from the SNS as requested to those hospitals that receive suspected or confirmed Ebola cases but may need additional PPE supplies that otherwise are not immediately available. Although the number of kits is limited, they will help address short-term PPE needs. Purchases include impermeable gowns, coveralls, and aprons; boot covers; gloves; face shields and hoods; N95 respirators; powered-air purifying respirator systems and ancillaries; and disinfecting wipes. Since the issuance of the CDC guidance, there has been a sudden increase in demand for PPE. Across the United States, availability for these products varies by product type and model, requested quantity, manufacturer, distributor, and geographic region. "We are making certain to not disrupt the orders submitted by states and hospitals, but we are building our stocks so that we can assist when needed. Some of these products are not normally used by hospitals for regular patient care," said Greg Burel, director of CDC's Division of Strategic National Stockpile. There are alternatives that can be used in the event certain products are unavailable, and those alternatives are included in CDC's guidance. CDC continues to coordinate with manufacturers, distributors and health care facilities to monitor the availability of products in the supply chain. No products are being held by manufacturers or distributors specifically for SNS orders and SNS orders are not being prioritized ahead of orders placed by hospitals.

Other Health Related Information & Updates

Canada - Alberta EV-D68 confirmed cases rise to 111: The number of confirmed Enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) cases in the Canadian province of Alberta have risen to 111, as of Oct. 31, up from 93 cases two weeks ago. Of the 111 lab-confirmed cases, 60 are in Calgary, 19 are in Edmonton, and 10 are in the province’s south zone. EV-D68 is a strain of enteroviruses — a common group of viruses that can cause various types of illness including respiratory illness and the common cold. In early October, lab results confirmed two patients at Alberta Children’s Hospital who were suffering from symptoms of paralysis including weakened limbs or faces had EV-D68. On Monday, Alberta Health Services said no more patients who have confirmed cases of EV-D68 have reported similar neurological syndrome symptoms. Patients with D68 can suffer from runny noses and fevers and they can also have trouble breathing, especially if they have asthma or some other respiratory illness. At this time, officials do not know if the cases of EV-D68 confirmed in Alberta are the same strain as the EV-D68 circulating across the United States. Albertans are encouraged to wash their hands, cough into their sleeves and stay home when they are sick to protect themselves and those around them from illnesses caused by enteroviruses

Germany - A new avian flu strain: A new strain of avian flu, christened H5N8, was detected in a farm of turkeys in the north of Germany, the first time the disease appears in Europe. The virus until now was "located in Asia, particularly in South Korea", and the new strain was identified in a farm of Germany. This strain is different from outbreak A(H5N6), also new, that appeared in September and that is causing numerous deaths.

Pakistan - Polio cases hit 15-year high: The incidence of polio in Pakistan hit a 15-year high on Wednesday, as the prime minister vowed to rid the country of the crippling disease in the next six months, despite a Taliban campaign to kill workers distributing vaccines. Dr. Elias Durry, who heads the World Health Organization’s polio eradication efforts in Pakistan, said authorities have already registered 235 polio cases since January. WHO data showed the last time numbers were higher was in 1999, when 558 cases were documented. Pakistan is one of three countries where polio, which can cause paralysis and death, remains endemic. Militants regularly target vaccination teams in tribal areas bordering Afghanistan and elsewhere, accusing workers of acting as spies for Washington and saying the vaccines make boys sterile. The disease, which mainly affects children, struck thousands of Pakistanis in the 1980s, but after a long-running vaccination drive it fell to its lowest point yet — 28 cases — in 2005, the figures show.After that, Taliban threats and attacks caused infection rates to rise. “We refuse to see our children getting disabled for life,” Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement during a high-level meeting on the subject in the capital, Islamabad. “We will make Pakistan a polio-free country in the next six months.” Local militants in the country’s North Waziristan tribal region banned polio prevention teams from the area in 2012. Since then, militants across the country have killed about 60 workers and police escorts.

From Around the World – Latest Health Researches:

Ageing well must be global priority', warns UN health agency in new study: The United Nations health agency warned today that as the world population aged 60 or older will jump from some 800 million to 2 billion in the next four decades, soaring levels of chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are poised to become a major global public health challenge. 'By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 60 years and older will outnumber children younger than 5 years,' the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said reporting its findings in a series on health and ageing in the medical journal The Lancet. And 'by 2050, the world's population aged 60 years and older is expected to total 2 billion, up from 841 million today,' WHO said, noting that 80 percent of these older persons will be living in low-income and middle-income countries. WHO attributed the increase in longevity, especially in high-income countries, largely to the decline in deaths from cardiovascular disease (stroke and ischaemic heart disease), mainly because of simple, cost-effective strategies to reduce tobacco use and high blood pressure, and improved coverage and effectiveness of health interventions. However, it said, 'although people are living longer, they are not necessarily healthier than before.' 'Unless health systems find effective strategies to address the problems faced by an ageing world population, the growing burden of chronic disease will greatly affect the quality of life of older people,' WHO said. 'As people across the world live longer, soaring levels of chronic illness and diminished wellbeing are poised to become a major global public health challenge,' the health agency warned. 'Deep and fundamental reforms of health and social care systems will be required,' said Dr. John Beard, Director of the Department of Ageing and Life Course at the WHO, and co-leader of the Series with Dr. Ties Boerma and Dr. Somnath Chatterji, also from WHO. The long-term burden of illness and diminished wellbeing affects patients, their families, health systems, and economies, and is forecast to accelerate. 'For example, latest estimates indicate that the number of people with dementia is expected to rise from 44 million now, to 135 million by 2050,' according to WHO. The responsibility for improving quality of life for the world's older people goes far beyond the health sector, the doctors noted. 'Strategies are needed that better prevent and manage chronic conditions by extending affordable health care to all older adults and take into consideration the physical and social environment,' WHO said. The health agency said examples include changing policies to encourage older adults to remain part of the workforce for longer, emphasising low-cost disease prevention and early detection rather than treatment, making better use of technology (and training health-care staff in the management of multiple chronic conditions. 'Collectively, we need to look beyond the costs commonly associated with ageing to think about the benefits that an older, healthier, happier, and more productive older population can bring to society as a whole,' said Dr. Chatterji from WHO's Department of Health Statistics and Information Systems.

Scientists find a possible key in order to repair damaged hearts:  Research carried out by scientists of the Salk Institute de California headed by the Spanish Juan Carlos Izpisúa found the key in order to repair damaged hearts, at the moment in mice. The scientists, who today published their work in the journal Cell Stem Cell, have succeeded in repairing the hearts blocking four molecules that are capable of inhibiting the programs for the organ regeneration, which opens the door to new treatments for heart diseases. The Hospital Clínic of Barcelona, that it participated in this international project through Dr. Josep M. Campistol, is proposed the translation of these results to patients with severe and irreversible heart diseases. Research suggests that, although by guideline the adult mammals are not capable of regenerating the damaged tissues; these can hold a latent capability that is present during the embryonic development. 

The group of Izpisúa, in which Campistol collaborates, it takes a long time trying to discover the elements that control and implement the regeneration in agencies that are capable of carrying it out. "We know that this type of studies require time and of many phases, but these results locate to us in an unprecedented scenario. It is necessary to continue to work", they say. The laboratory of Izpisúa was pioneering in identifying many essential molecules that define the development of the vertebrates. In 2003 the group identified the signs responsible for the regeneration of the heart of fish zebra and in 2010 described in an article published in the journal Nature how was carried out that process. That study revealed that the cardiac cells have capability to become more immature cells, similar to the precursor cells of the heart, which makes it possible for them to multiply and regenerate the damaged tissue.
"For this work we have focused on the results obtained with the fish zebra and we have thought that if they know how to regenerate tissues, should be something that can teach to us", says Aitor Aguirre, another one of the scientists of the project. The following step that now are proposed the scientists is to pass to another type of animals and to verify if the regenerative reprogramming can function in them.

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Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak - Latest Updates as of November 5th...

Ebola Outbreak: Ebola Outbreak - Latest Updates as of November 5th...: Sierra Leone extends Ebola state of emergency: The state of emergency declared three months ago in Sierra Leone will remain in fo...

Ebola Outbreak - Latest Updates as of November 5th, 2014

Sierra Leone extends Ebola state of emergency: The state of emergency declared three months ago in Sierra Leone will remain in force for the next nine months if the Ebola epidemic is not contained, the Justice ministry said. In addition to the emergency stipulation, President Ernest Bai Koroma has since announced other additional measures to fight the epidemic. Many Sierra Leoneans have been fixated on what happens next and the legality of any extension of the state of emergency. Initially the emergency was supposed to be for a three-month period only. The extension comes as the outbreak worsens in the north and west of the country. According to figures from the ministry of Health and Sanitation released Monday, 61 new cases were recorded between Friday and Sunday. The Western Area which includes the capital Freetown accounted for 51 of the new cases. This brings to 4,059 the total number of confirmed cases, with Freetown accounting for 1,233. Meanwhile, the fifth Sierra Leonean doctor to contract the virus died Monday, a day after a UNICEF worker was evacuated to France for treatment after contracting the virus at a treatment centre in the country. The doctor who died, Godfrey George, was the medical superintendent at the Kambia Government Hospital in the north of the country, one of the Ebola epicentres. He died at the Hastings Treatment Centre, a few kilometers outside Freetown. The UN Ebola point man in Sierra Leone is already warning of an escalation of cases in in the country. Anthony Banbury said at a press conference at the newly created National Ebola Response Centre that lack of correct figures makes the situation even more worrisome. Neither the government's nor the World Health Organization's (WHO) figures represent the true picture, he said. According to WHO's latest statistics, released on October 31, some 1,510 people have died from the disease, while the ministry of Health's figures indicate 1,085 had died as of Monday November 3.

United States - US requires West Africa travelers to arrive at 5 airports: The U.S. government announced that all travelers from three West African Ebola-affected countries will be required to fly into one of the five airports that are conducting enhanced screening. The travel restrictions, which are to go into effect Wednesday, will ensure all passengers from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea are subject to secondary screening and added protocols, including having their temperature taken, before they can be admitted into the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. Last week, the DHS implemented enhanced screening measures at five airports, including New York's JFK, New Jersey's Newark, Washington Dulles, Atlanta and Chicago. These airports account for about 94 percent of travelers flying to the United States from these countries. At present, there are no direct, non-stop commercial flights from the three countries to any airport in the United States. The first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States was Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian national. He arrived in the United States to visit family on Sept. 20 and died Oct. 8. Two nurses who treated him have become infected.

United States - Johns Hopkins and CDC Ebola training modules for health care workers now available: The Ebola virus disease training modules for health care workers developed in collaboration between experts at Johns Hopkins Medicine and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are now available. This interactive, Web-based learning program, called Ebola Preparedness: PPE Guidelines, is available for free through the CDC’s website. The program trains health care providers in three critical areas: proper donning of personal protective equipment (PPE), the safe removal of gear and active monitoring skills. Program modules include:

Options for wearing different combinations of PPE, allowing health care workers to view training material based on gear outlined in their facility’s specific protocols

How to put on, or don, personal protective equipment

How to safely remove, or doff, personal protective equipment

Monitoring skills used by the designated observer during donning and doffing procedures to help staff avoid possible contamination

Effective teamwork skills, such as communication strategies

Tips for how to anticipate and mitigate potential contamination risks during the donning and doffing processes.

The modules can be accessed online.

Ebola – Latest Research: Could the blood of survivors be the key to beating the epidemic? Researchers from the Belgian institute which first identified the virus have flown in to Guinea for first large-scale test of whether antibodies from survivors could be used to treat victims. Scientists from one of the world’s leading institutes of tropical medicine, which first discovered the Ebola virus in the 1970s flew out to Guinea yesterday to begin ground-breaking research into a possible cure for the disease, racing against the clock to find a treatment which will help stem the deaths in the current epidemic. Johan van Griensven, lead researcher from Antwerp’s Institute of Tropical Medicine (ITM), told that he was “moderately positive” that the study into whether blood from Ebola survivors can treat new victims would yield results in time to have an impact. “There surely is a real urgency to get started soon, yet careful preparation is of the essence,” he said just before boarding a plane to Guinea. “If the treatment works and Ebola survivors are willing to donate blood... [then] I am confident that the treatment, in particular whole blood therapy, can be rolled-out across the affected countries,” he added. The institute has the history and expertise to deal with the deadly virus: in 1976 a flask of blood taken from a sick Belgian nun working in Zaire arrived in Antwerp. ITM scientists were at first flummoxed by the disease, then diagnosed the first recorded case of Ebola. A subsequent research trip into the central African rainforests to try and understand and treat the mysterious new virus laid the groundwork for the way the Ebola is identified and contained today. Now the institute is back at the forefront of the fight against the virus, and the scale of an epidemic which has killed more than 4,900 people in parts of West Africa means they are getting to work as quickly as possible. Mr. Van Griensven and his colleague will be arriving in Guinea less than two weeks after the ITM got the final go-ahead and a €2.9m (£2.3m) grant from the European Union to lead an international consortium studying the experimental treatment. Their first task is to identify a local partner and start recruiting up to 200 patients to take part in the study, which is backed by 13 leading institutes including the World Health Organisation, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, Oxford University and France’s Institute Pasteur. “Using antibodies contained in the blood of recovered patients is a well-established technique used for several other infectious diseases,” explained Mr. Van Griensven. “For Ebola it has been tried too already, albeit on a very small scale... What we need now is a well-designed study according to high ethical and scientific standards to confirm it works and see whether it can be scaled up.” The institute has plenty of field experience to draw on. It was when trying to tackle a 1995 outbreak of the virus in Kikwit in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) that ITM researchers first used blood transfusions to treat eight patients. Seven of them survived. Blood from survivors has also been used in the United States to treat four people infected in the current Ebola outbreak. Three of them received plasma from Dr Kent Brantly, who himself was treated with the blood of the 14-year-old patient in Liberia. Teresa Romero, the Spanish nursing assistant who contracted Ebola while treating an infected missionary in Madrid, was also given plasma from the blood of a survivor. Yesterday she said she would be a willing to become a donor too. “If my blood works to cure people, I’m ready to give it to the last drop,” she said. But Spanish doctors acknowledged that they had used so many different experimental treatments that it was impossible to pinpoint which one ultimately led to her recovery. The same problem applies to the other recent cases, and right now there remains no standard Ebola treatment beyond dealing with the individual symptoms. Mr. Van Griensven and his team are now determined to prove conclusively whether or not the antibodies in the blood used by immune systems to fight Ebola can indeed cure other patients. Their research will be divided into two parts: up to 100 patients will be given whole-blood transfusions, while 100 others will be treated using just blood plasma, in which the antibodies are extracted from the blood of the survivor. The results of the two test groups will be compared with other patients who receive the same level of care but do not receive donor blood or plasma. The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that blood therapies offer the most promising chance of finding a short-term treatment, and Mr. Van Griensven says they have the added value of being relatively easy to then roll out across the worst-affected nations of Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Other studies into experimental drugs led by pharmaceutical companies could come with large price tags.
“Whole-blood therapy via blood transfusion is a rather straightforward procedure,” he said. And while the blood plasma extraction was a more challenging operation, it could also be effective if one donor provided the antibodies to several patients.