Ebola
Ebola, is a disease of humans and other primates caused by ebolaviruses. Signs and symptoms typically start between two days and three weeks after contracting the virus as a fever, sore throat, muscle pain, and headaches and usually end with people beginning to bleed both internally and externally. The disease has a high risk of death, killing between 25 percent and 90 percent of those infected with the virus.
21/02/18 Ebola vaccine inches toward human clinical trials
A whole-virus vaccine to confront Ebola, the rare but often fatal hemorrhagic disease that periodically erupts in sub-Saharan Africa, may soon be one step closer to the clinic. With the help of experts at Waisman Biomanufacturing, within the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Waisman Center, UW–Madison School of Veterinary Medicine Professor Yoshihiro Kawaoka will lead a $3 million effort to produce as many as 1,000 doses of an experimental vaccine that has already been proven to work safely in monkeys.
https://news.wisc.edu/ebola-vaccine-inches-toward-human-clinical-trials/
22/08/16 New anti viral drug protects rhesus macaques from Ebola Sudan - could led to new treatment
Researchers at the University of Texas Medical Branch have developed a new antiviral drug that protects rhesus macaques from Ebola Sudan, four days following exposure to the virus. Although all infected animals showed evidence of serious disease, those receiving the treatment survived and recovered. There are currently no proven treatments against Ebola Sudan and little is known about the window of opportunity for treating the infection
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-08/nioa-mws082216.php
06/07/16 New anti-viral drug trial against Ebola
Following trials in monkeys and safety testing in humans another anti-viral enters trials. The 2014 outbreak of Ebola virus caused more than 11,000 deaths in West Africa. The drugmaker Gilead Sciences just launched a mid-stage study of GS-5734, an antiviral, that, if proven effective, could be a crucial weapon against future flare-ups of Ebola. The Phase II clinical trial in Liberia will test whether the Gilead compound can clear viral RNA that has remained in the eyes, testes, and spinal column, for example where that immune cells have trouble reaching. In rare cases, that reservoir of genetic material causes the Ebola virus to come back months after a person is believed to be cured. It also can be passed onto sexual partners.
https://cen.acs.org/…/Study-launched-Gileads-Ebola-antivira…
16/10/15 Antiviral compound provides full protection from Ebola virus in non-human primates
Rhesus monkeys were completely protected from the Ebola virus when treated three days after infection with a compound that blocks the virus’s ability to replicate. Researchers used cell culture and animal models to assess the small-molecule antiviral agent’s efficacy against several pathogens. The compound lead to 100 percent of survival of monkeys infected with the Ebola virus. The animals also exhibited a substantial reduction in viral load and a marked decrease in the physical signs of disease, including internal bleeding and tissue damage.
03/08/15 New ebola vaccine 100% effective
The ebola vaccine VSV-EBOV has been found to be 100% safe in 7,500 people. The vaccine, which was initially tested safe and effective in primates, has now shown extremely promising results in humans who have been in close proximity to Ebola patients. It is estimated that overall the effectiveness of the vaccine will be 80-100%.
Jeremy Farrar, Director of the Wellcome Trust, said:
“This is a remarkable result which shows the power of equitable international partnerships and flexibility. This partnership also shows that such critical work is possible in the midst of a terrible epidemic. It should change how the world responds to such emerging infectious disease threats.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/…/Remarkable-Ebola-vaccine-creat…
See more about the animal research behind the vaccine here:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2704787/
15/07/15 World's first inhaled Ebola vaccine shown to protect monkeys from the virus
Researchers at the Univrsity of Texas have developed an aerosolised Ebola vaccine which has been shown to protect rhesus monkeys from the disease. The advantage of an inhaled vaccine is that it can be given by someone who is not a trained medical expert. Of 12 primates given the disease, all ten vaccinated primates (some with the aerosol vaccine, some with liquid vaccine) survived. Such research could be important not only for humans, but for wild gorilla populations in Africa, which have been decimated by the disease.
22/05/15 New Experimental Ebola treatment cure 90% of mice
Experimental Ebola treatment boosts survival in mice. Researchers have found a potential drug that successfully treated up to 90% of mice exposed to the Ebola virus. The FDA has yet to approve any therapeutic drugs or vaccines against the Ebola virus which has infected since dec 2013 more than 25,000 people and killed more than 10,000.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-05-experimental-ebola-treatment-boosts-survival.html
23/04/15 Ebola drug cures monkeys infected with the virus.
Ebola drug cures monkeys infected with the virus. The treatment targets the West African strain of the virus and could be adapted to target any strain of Ebola. It works by blocking particular genes, which stops the virus from replicating. Currently, there are no treatments or vaccines for Ebola that has been proven to work in humans, but human trials with the monkey-saving drug are expected to start in the second half of this year.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-32424145
26/01/15 Ebola virus has killed a third of the world' gorillas and chimpanzees
One of the untold victims of the Ebola crisis has been great apes. An estimated one third of the world’s gorilla and chimpanzee populations have been wiped out by Ebola since the 1990s. Great ape research bans make the development of a vaccine more difficult for these populations, however they may benefit from current advances in human vaccines.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/ebola-virus-has-killed-a-third-of-the-worlds-gorillas-and-chimpanzees--and-could-pose-greatest-threat-to-their-survival-conservationists-warn-9998386.html
06/01/15 Guinea pigs used to model the spread of Ebola
The Canadian Public Health Agency has been using guinea pigs to model the spread of Ebola. They found the animals did not need to directly come into contact with the infected animals, but that shared bedding and adjacent caging was sufficient to spread the virus.
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view%2FarticleNo%2F41837%2Ftitle%2FGuinea-Pigs-to-Model-Ebola-Spread%2F
Full Paper: http://jvi.asm.org/content/89/2/1314.full
27/11/14 Ebola vaccine using a Chimpanzee cold virus
An Ebola vaccine that uses a chimpanzee cold virus that carries non-infectious Ebola proteins on its surface has shown promising results in a clinical trial. Twenty volunteers who were immunised in the US produced antibodies in response to the virus and no major side-effects were observed. Four trials are currently underway, and health authorities are hopeful that this vaccine could be offered to health workers in West Africa by January.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-30217573
30/10/14 mouse model reveals genetic differences explain the difference of deadliness of the infection
A new mouse model for Ebola virus has revealed that genetic differences between individuals affect whether the infection is deadly or not. Until now the best animal models for studying Ebola have been monkeys, but they are large, expensive to keep and more dangerous to handle than mice. "Ask any scientist who does this type of work, and you'll hear that they really want non-human primates to be a last resort," said study co-head Angela Rasmussen, of the University of Washington department of microbiology.
02/10/14 Ebola treatment rescues 100% of macaques
Tests shows that the Ebola treatment, Zmapp, was able to rescue 100% of macaque monkeys providing treatment was given up to 5-days “post-challenge”. “ZMapp exceeds the efficacy of any other therapeutics described so far, and results warrant further development of this cocktail for clinical use.”
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v514/n7520/full/nature13777.html
17/09/14 Human trials for ebola vaccine
The first healthy volunteer has been injected with an experimental Ebola vaccine as part of a human clinical trial in Oxford. The vaccine had previously been proven effective in monkeys, and this trial will determine whether the vaccine can cause an effective immune response in humans. 60 volunteers initially will receive the vaccine, with the trial being extended to Africa next month. The vaccine contains only a small portion of genetic material from the virus, so it cannot cause the disease.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29243936
07/09/14 Long term immunity against the Ebola virus in monkeys
Vaccinated monkeys have developed "long-term" immunity to the Ebola virus, raising a prospect of successful human trials, say scientists. The experiments by the US National Institutes of Health showed immunity could last at least 10 months. Human trials of the vaccine started this week in the US and will extend to the UK and Africa.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-29076371
Last edited: 5 September 2018 17:34