Steps away from the Ebola cure



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On August 1, the first anniversary of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government's Statement on the Ebola Virus Epidemic in North Kivu Province was celebrated. In July 2019, the outbreak was declared public health emergency of international concern.

The obstacles to stopping the transmission of the disease are indeed considerable. But none of them is insurmountable. And none of them can be used as an excuse for not acting. The United Nations and its partners continue to intensify their work for the Government and to strengthen joint action.

What are the new measures to attack this virus?

Two new Ebola treatments are proving so effective that they are being offered to all patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where the current epidemic is the second-most deadly in history. .

In November, randomized trials began in which four different treatments were compared in four cities. Of the four, two treatments known as REGN-EB3 and mAb114 They were so effective that the researchers announced that they had suspended the tests and stopped distributing the other less effective ones.

Early results showed that patients who received the two most effective treatments had a higher risk of survival.

Since then, the mortality rate for REGN-EB3 and mAb114 was 29% and 34% respectively. In contrast, the other two drugs, ZMapp and Remdesivir, had higher mortality rates of 49% and 53%.

On the other hand, the two effective drugs worked even better for patients treated early. In fact, the mortality rate was reduced to 6% for REGN-EB3 and to 11% for mAb114.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and one of the researchers responsible for the study have published this information.

Ebola Healing Virus
The Ebola virus has killed more than 1,800 people in the Democratic Republic of Congo since last summer.
Photo: Getty Images

The results were more surprising for patients who received treatment shortly after becoming ill, while their viral load was still low. Since then, the mortality rate has fallen to 11% with the MAb114 and only 6% with the drug Regeneron, against 24% with the ZMapp and 33% with the Remdesivir.

These early results suggest that scientists are one step closer to curing the disease.

"From now on, we will no longer say that the Ebola virus disease (Ebola) is not curable," said Jean-Jacques Muyembe-Tamfum, director general of the Federal Institute of Medical Research. the DRC, during an appeal.

"This breakthrough, in the future, will help save thousands of lives that would have had a fatal outcome in the past."

You can find more information on the CNN portal.

How does this virus spread?

The Ebola virus is transmitted from mother to son, from husband to wife, from patient to caregiver, from the mortal remains of a victim to a member of his bereavement. The disease disrupts the most common daily activities, harms local businesses, prevents children from going to school and affects both essential health services and normal services.

It is mainly a health crisis, but it also has very serious consequences for the way people take care of their families, consider their neighbors and interact in the community.

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Ebola virus
20,000 contacts were visited each day to make sure they did not get sick.
Photo: Getty Images

This article is a compilation of documents previously published by WHO and CNN.

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