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U.S. Army Scientists Report Positive Result With New Ebola Treatment
U.S. Army scientists reported yesterday the first successful treatment of monkeys infected with Ebola, according to the New York Times (see GSN, Dec. 10). In a study published in The Lancet medical journal, scientists at the U.S Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases injected 12 rhesus macaque monkeys with the Ebola virus. Soon after, nine of the monkeys received a 14-day treatment of an experimental drug derived from hookworms called recombinant nematode anticoagulant protein c2 (rNAPC2). While Ebola usually kills all Ebola-infected monkeys, three of the nine who where given rNAPC2 survived and death was delayed in the other six, the Times reported. The new drug is currently undergoing human testing and appears to be safe, the authors of the study said. They also said, however, that additional testing would be needed before rNAPC2 became an acceptable treatment for Ebola. “Obviously, this work that got a highly significant decrease in death rates needs to be pursued,” said Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (Altman/Miller, New York Times, Dec. 12). Doctors with the World Health Organization said they plan to use rNAPC2 on humans during the next natural Ebola outbreak, according to the Associated Press. “You take the patients from their families, they die in the ward, you bury them. Everybody is dying and you cannot do anything,” said WHO Ebola expert Pierre Formenty. “If you can save one or two, it will be nice to come back and try to save lives and not just control outbreaks by burying people,” he added (Emma Ross, Associated Press/Miami Herald, Dec. 12).
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