WoW ! Liberian Doctor Who Received Rare Ebola Drug Zmapp Dies

One of three African doctors infected with Ebola and treated with the experimental drug ZMapp has died in Monrovia, Liberian Information Minister Lewis Brown said on Monday.

Liberia, the West African country where Ebola is spreading fastest, received three doses of the rare treatment on August 13. Initially, Liberia said the three doctors, Zukunis Ireland and Abraham Borbor from Liberia and Dr.

Aroh Cosmos Izchukwu from Nigeria, were responding well to the treatment, raising optimism about the experimental therapy. Asked to confirm the death of doctor Borbor,
Brown said: “That is correct. He died yesterday.”

Two U.S. aid workers who caught Ebola in Liberia were declared free of the virus and released from an Atlanta hospital last week after receiving the same treatment.

But a Spanish priest who received ZMapp died. The drug’s U.S.-based manufacturer, Mapp Biopharmaceutical, says limited supplies have already been exhausted and producing more will take time.

There are other drugs in the pipeline but all are unproven and have yet to clear even the earliest stage of clinical trials.
The hemorrhagic fever has killed at least 1,427 people in the deadliest outbreak of the disease to date.

In the week through to August 22, 297 new suspected, probable and confirmed cases of Ebola were reported in Liberia – the largest number of weekly cases since the epidemic began in March, according to a United Nations Children’s Fund report.

Ebola can kill up to 90 percent of those infected though the fatality rate in the current epidemic is around 60 percent

Source: Reuters

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WoW ! US Commends Nigeria As Four More Ebola Patients Are Discharged

The US government has commended the Nigerian government and its health authorities for their handling of the Ebola virus since it broke in Lagos last month.

The US’ commendation came on the back of more good news yesterday that four more patients who had contracted the disease had been discharged and declared free of the infectious disease.

With their discharge, this brings the total number of people who have been given the all clear to five. A total of 12 people were struck with the virus in Nigeria, including the index case Patrick Sawyer, of which four have died, five have been discharged while three remain in the isolation ward at the Infectious Disease Hospital, Yaba, Lagos.

However, all hopes that the US would send the ZMapp experimental drug to Nigeria were dimmed yesterday when the US government ruled out the possibility, saying there were insufficient quantities of the drug available.

Making this known when he visited the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, in Abuja, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, informed reporters that what was needed was to focus primarily on isolation and the screening of patients or those suspected to have contracted the virus.

According to Entwistle:

“We’ll see down the road what is possible. But there are no huge quantities now. And we think the focus now needs to be on exactly what you are doing: the isolation wards, screening, and especially important that now your government is doing a very good job on this, that is contact tracing.”

The envoy said he just came back from the US late last week, adding, “I was in Washington, of course, for the US-African Leaders Summit and I came over to see the minister right away as soon as I got back into town to discuss our anti-Ebola cooperation.

“I was in the room in Washington when Vice President (Joe) Biden and President (Goodluck) Jonathan talked about the Ebola crisis, talked about our partnership, and pledged the total cooperation between your government and my government on this issue.

“So I just came over to see the minister this morning to talk to him about that and you’ve all seen the headlines over the weekend. This is an issue where
we have to keep working hard. It may last for a while but there are some encouraging signs.

“The Emergency Operation Centre (EOC), I understand, is working well. The isolation ward, I understand, is working well. So this is an example we have, as part of the broad partnership between
our two countries, just keep collaborating and cooperating and keep working hard.”

While commending Nigeria for effectively curtailing the spread of the Ebola virus, Entwistle stated: “I noticed that when I flew back on Thursday night into this country, before I left the plane, I filled out a questionnaire.

“I was very impressed because I even had to put my seat number which is a very good idea. So if you ever have to trace the guy sitting next to me you know where I am. So I have been impressed by these things and I encourage the government of Nigeria to keep at it as I know they will.

“I always say we have a broad partnership between our two countries which means we do things together as equals to make the world a better place.
I can’t think of a more important example today than our Ebola cooperation.”

Chukwu, on his part, said the visit came at the right time considering the need for collaboration between the two countries, specifically on the Ebola virus.
Chukwu said as the representative of the US government, the envoy will assist in various ways in the prevention of the virus from spreading further.

The minister referred to the US ambassador as the spokesperson for the US government in Nigeria, adding,

“So he came to me as the chief public health officer of the country, because that is what the Minister of Health is, to exchange views with me on the collaboration with America.

Four Patients Discharged The minister also disclosed that four additional patients were yesterday discharged and declared free of the infectious disease.
In a statement in Abuja, Chukwu said the
development was a good omen for Nigeria, taking into cognisance the devastation the virus had caused in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.

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WoW ! Liberia Gives Available Doses Of Zmapp Three African Doctors

Health care workers in Liberia have administered three doses of the rare,
experimental drug ZMapp to three doctors suffering from Ebola, two medical workers in Monrovia told Reuters.

Liberia, the West African country with the highest death toll from the tropical virus at 413, received three doses of the rare serum in a special consignment this week.

Doctors Zukunis Ireland and Abraham Borbor from Liberia and Dr. Aroh Cosmos Izchukwu from Nigeria are the first Africans to receive the treatment. The
drug has already been administered to two American healthcare workers and a Spanish priest, all previously working in Liberian hospitals.

The U.S. healthcare workers’ health has since improved but the Spanish priest died.

“Three doctors are currently being administered treatment with the experimental Ebola drug ZMapp. Treatment began on Thursday evening,” said Dr. Billy Johnson, chief medical officer of John F. Kennedy Medical Center in Monrovia where two of the doctors served before contracting the deadly
virus.

A second healthcare worker at the Elwa center which is housing the sick doctors confirmed that they were on their third day of a six-day ZMapp treatment.
Details of their condition are not known.

The U.N. health agency said only around 10 to 12 doses of the drug have been made and this raises difficult ethical questions about who should get priority access.

The apparent improvement in the two U.S. healthcare workers’ condition has stoked popular pressure to make the drug available to Africans – a cause advocated by the Twitter hashtag group
#giveustheserum.

There is currently no vaccine against the highly- contagious disease and other forms of treatment are only designed to relieve symptoms such as fever, vomiting and haemorrhaging.

Up to 90 percent of victims die – a fatality rate so high that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) classifies the illness as a category

A “bioterrorism agent” – although the current outbreak fatality rate is near 60 percent. Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has declared a state of emergency due to the outbreak, widely seen as the country’s biggest challenge since the 1989-2003 civil war.

Health care workers fighting to stop the disease’s spread in often overcrowded and ill-equipped clinics often succumb to Ebola themselves. The World Health Organization says that more than 170
healthcare workers have been infected and at least 81 have died.

U.S. President Barack Obama called Johnson-Sirleaf earlier this week to offer condolences for the country’s losses and discussed control measures, Liberia said in a statement.

Source: Reuters

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WoW ! Spanish priest with Ebola treated with experimental serum, Zmapp

The 75 year old Spanish priest who was infected with the Ebola virus in Liberia is being treated with the new experimental drug, Zmapp, which was used to treat two US missionary doctors infected with the virus.
The Spanish government claimed yesterday that the drug was imported from Geneva and doctors have begun to administer it on Fr. Miguel Pajares at Madrid’s La Paz-Carlos III hospital where he is in isolation. The first person to be treated with the serum, Dr. Kent Brantly, saw his condition improve after being given Zmapp.

Since his treatment began, Fr. Pajares is said to be in stable condition, no longer has fever, and hasn’t any hemorrhaging. Doctors believe that his condition will
greatly improve in the coming days.
But when would the drug arrive Africa where it is more prevailing ?

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WoW ! US Ebola patient Dr. Kent Brantly speaks out – read his statement

Dr. Kent Brantly, one of the two US doctors who contracted the Ebola virus in Liberia, has spoken out for the first time. He released a statement from his
isolation room at Emory University in Atlanta where he’s being treated after he was flown out of Liberia last week. He is the first Ebola patient to receive experimental serum, ZMapp. Below is the statement Brantly released to the media yesterday

“I am writing this update from my isolation room at Emory University Hospital, where the doctors and nurses are providing the very best care possible. I am growing stronger every day, and I thank God for His mercy as I have wrestled with this terrible disease. I also want to extend my deep and sincere thanks to all of you who have
been praying for my recovery as well as for Nancy and for the people of Liberia and West Africa.

“My wife Amber and I, along with our two
children, did not move to Liberia for the specific purpose of fighting Ebola. We went to Liberia because we believe God called us to serve Him at ELWA Hospital.”

“One thing I have learned is that following God often leads us to unexpected places. When Ebola spread into Liberia, my usual hospital work
turned more and more toward treating the increasing number of Ebola patients. I held the hands of countless individuals as this terrible disease took their lives away from them. I witnessed the horror first-hand, and I can still remember every face and name.

“When I started feeling ill on that Wednesday morning, I immediately isolated myself until the test confirmed my diagnosis three days later. When the result was positive, I remember a deep
sense of peace that was beyond all understanding. God was reminding me of what He had taught me years ago, that He will give me everything I need to be faithful to Him.

“Now it is two weeks later, and I am in a totally different setting. My focus, however, remains the same – to follow God. As you continue to pray for Nancy and me, yes, please pray for our recovery. More importantly, pray that we would be faithful to God’s call on our lives in these new circumstances.”

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