A
glimmer of hope for those 20,000 is coming that shows that the UN (United
Nations) hasn’t given up on Africa!
This
after the WHO (World Health Organization) declared what was effectively a death
knell for some 20,000 African before the Ebola Virus Outbreak would be brought
under control on Thursday August 28th 2014 as stated in my blog article
entitled “WHO
confirms Ebola Virus outbreak in DRC different from West Africa - Ebola Virus
Brothers from the same Zaire Strain Mother”.
A
two-day WHO consultation with 200 health officials, regulators, ethicists,
scientists and drug company representatives in Geneva, Switzerland has come to
the conclusion that convalescent or recovering patient serum will be used to
inoculate and treat the rest of the African population showing symptoms of the
Ebola Virus as stated in the article “WHO
Ebola Drug Panel: Use Survivor Serum To Treat Ebola Victims”,
published 9/05/2014 @ 3:01PM, by David
Kroll, Forbes.
Included
among those 200 panelists were representatives from the following Drug
companies:
1. BioCryst
2. Chimerix
3. Fujifilm
4. GSK
5. Mapp
Biopharmaceuticals
6. MediVecto
7. Merck
8. Tekmira
Aside
from FujiFilm, who I never expected to be in the pharmaceuticals Game
altogether, Mapp Biopharmaceuticals stands out. This as there are two American
missionary workers for Samaritan’s Purse Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol
who survived thanks to their experimental three-mouse monoclonal antibody
called ZMapp as explained in per my blog article
entitled “Jamaica's
Ebola Risk - How a ZMapp cured Americans of Ebola as Jamaica can become Guinea
Pig to Test an Ebola Cure”.
WHO Decides on Serum
and Vaccine Strategy – 20,000 lives potentially saved WHO Decision
WHO
Assistant Director General Dr. Marie Paule Kieny, who chaired this 200 strong
panel, declared that it was based on prior experience with the 1995 Kikwit
Ebola outbreak, where Serum from recovered Ebola Virus patients was used to
successfully treat eight persons infected with the Ebola Virus, of which seven
survived as stated in “Treatment
of Ebola Hemorrhagic Fever with Blood Transfusions from Convalescent Patients”,
Oxford Journal of Medicine.
The
Serum is the upper portion after the centrifugation of Blood taken from a
convalescent or recovering Ebola Virus patient that contain anti-bodies that
can help someone suffering from Ebola to recover from the infection.
This
may really be out of convenience and past experience rather than sound
scientific judgment, as there is literature that describes a phenomenon called
antibody-dependent enhancement of viral infection as described in “Antibody-dependent
enhancement of Ebola Virus infection”, published July 2003, by J. Vitol, NCBI where a Serum can also cause an
adverse reaction and actually weaken the immune system, making the situation
worse. Thus albeit this is the same course of action I'd personally recommend
if I were a doctor, it's not without risk!
They
also decided to test out two experimental Ebola Virus Drug treatments as
explained in the article “NIAID/GSK
Ebola Vaccines To Enter US, UK Human Safety Trials”, published 8/28/2014 @
8:55AM by David Kroll, Forbes:
1. Chimp
adenoVirus type 3 vaccine (ChAd3) made by GSK
2. Recombinant
vesicular stomatitis Virus Ebola vaccine (rVSV-EBOV) made by researchers at the
Public Health Agency of Canada
Recombinant
vesicular stomatitis Virus Ebola vaccine (rVSV-EBOV) has been licensed for
testing on 40 volunteers through the Canadian Drug company NewLink Genetics.
With volunteers already receiving doses of these experimental drugs in Safety
Trials, word as to whether they worked or not will be forthcoming in November
2014. UK, Mali and The Gambia, who have
no traces of the Ebola Virus in their Country but have the advanced
infrastructure to deal with Ebola Virus outpatient care.
If
successful, the Public Health Agency of Canada can crank out some 600 to 800
doses of their Recombinant vesicular stomatitis Virus Ebola vaccine (rVSV-EBOV)
and GSK has committed to making some 10,000 doses of chimp adenoVirus type 3
vaccine (ChAd3). Potentially, these measures combined can save the very same
20,000 persons fated to die by the WHO.
20,000
lives potentially saved via this decision by the WHO.
WHO's Serum and Vaccine
Strategy - No need for Experimental Drugs as West Africa given a fighting
Chance
The
panel also came to conclusion that there was no need to deploy siRNAs and
monoclonal antibodies, despite the success of Mapp Biopharmaceuticals
experimental three-mouse monoclonal antibody called ZMapp, despite it's early
success as per my blog article
entitled “Jamaica's
Ebola Risk - How a ZMapp cured Americans of Ebola as Jamaica can become Guinea
Pig to Test an Ebola Cure”.
Other
experimental drugs exist that have undergone human experimentation and have
worked, such as Sarepta’s AVI-7537 as
described in “FDA
Moves On Tekmira's Ebola Drug While Sarepta's Sits Unused”, published
8/07/2014 @ 8:52PM by David Kroll, Forbes.
In
fact the Sarepta CEO Chris Garabedian
says his company has enough AVI-7537 remaining to treat 20-25 Ebola Virus
patients but the WHO Panel has declared it's too early for such experimental
drugs as noted in the Journal Nature as stated in “Ebola
drug trials set to begin amid crisis”, published 02 September 2014 by
Declan Butler, Nature.
The
use of statins, ACE inhibitors, ARB (angiotensin receptor blockers) and
interferon was also discussed but none got the nod from the WHO, who were
primarily focused on approved Serum from recovered patients and experimental
vaccines. Apparently those outside of the WHO who wish to experiment with these
options are free to do so.
Still,
WHO's general about-turn means that some 20,000 lives in Africa may be spared
and at least the UN is fulfilling its mandate as it relates to the Right to
life. Via these expressed strategies, they're giving Africa the same fighting
chance as American missionary workers for Samaritan’s Purse Dr. Kent Brantly
and Nancy Writebol.
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