There have been some suggested Ebola cures in the past, but they had to be administered within minutes of infection—which is completely impractical. Now, though, researchers from the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg, Canada, have developed a cocktail of antibodies called ZMAb which cures cynomolgus monkeys infected with the Zaire virus—the deadliest strain of Ebola. The treatment works best when administered within 24 hours of infection, with 100 per cent of monkeys treated in such a way surviving. The researchers also report, however, that two of four monkeys given the medication 48 hours after infection also lived. By contrast, any monkey left untreated dies within five days. The antibodies used in the treatment are actually isolated from mice which are vaccinated with part of the virus, and the researchers are hopeful that they should also work in humans. The researchers plan to test the safety of the treatment in humans in a phase I clinical trial set to begin before the end of 2014.
Now the good news is, according to a CNN report as of August 4, 2014, three vials containing an experimental drug stored at subzero temperatures were flown into Liberia last week in a last-ditch effort to save two American missionary workers who had contracted Ebola, according to a source familiar with details of the treatment and the drug appears to have worked.
The missionaries, Dr. Kent Brantly's and Nancy Writebol's conditions significantly improved after receiving the medication, sources say. Brantly was able to walk into Emory University Hospital in Atlanta after being evacuated to the United States last week, and Writebol is expected to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday. It is believed that both Brantly and Writebol, who worked with the aid organization Samaritan's Purse, contracted Ebola from another health care worker at their hospital in Liberia, although the official centers for Disease Control and Prevention case investigation is yet to be released. A representative from the National Institutes of Health contacted Samaritan's Purse in Liberia and offered the experimental treatment, known as ZMapp, for the two patients, according to the source.
The drug was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc., which is based in San Diego. The patients were told that this treatment had never been tried before in a human being but had shown promise in small experiments with monkeys as stated earlier.