Experimental Ebola Treatments Look Successful in Lab Studies, Says the CDC

A humanitarian crisis, attacks on health workers and rampant misinformation have for months fueled an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), amplifying the effects of a highly contagious and often-fatal disease. As a result, international health groups have declared this the second-worst Ebola outbreak in history, with more than 1,500 people dying since it started in August 2018. New research from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) offers some hope, highlighting two treatments that could help bring the deadly outbreak under control. The study, published in the Lancet Infectious Diseases, finds that two experimental Ebola treatments—Gilead Sciences’ antiviral drug remdesivir, and antibodies included in a Mapp Biopharmaceutical cocktail known as ZMapp—were shown in a lab to slow the viral strain found in the DRC, potentially offering an effective treatment to those who become infected with the hemorrhagic fever. There is no known cure for Ebola. There are some treatments available, but all were “developed to fight Ebola viruses from previous outbreaks,” lead study author and CDC microbiologist Laura McMullan said in a statement. “It’s vitally important to make sure existing treatments work against the virus that’s making people sick now.” CDC researchers isolated and recreated the specific viral strain circulating in the DRC, which is known as the Ituri strain, and studied its a...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Infectious Disease Source Type: news