Thursday, December 18, 2014

To Underscore The Urgency Of An Ebola Vaccine -- Just A Short Note


In an ironic twist of fate, a doctor in Sierra Leone who treated a banker he later learned was infected with Ebola, has died from the virus -- just hours after a Defryus drug called ZMab, arrived in country to be given to him.

It didn't thaw in time. Tragic -- per Reuters:

. . . .Victor Willoughby was diagnosed with Ebola last week after he treated a man with organ-related problems. The patient, a senior banker, was later diagnosed with Ebola and has since died. . . .

The drug, ZMab, was transported in frozen form on a Brussels Airlines flight that arrived overnight. Before it could thaw, Willoughby's condition deteriorated, said chief medical officer Brima Kargbo. . . .


As concerned scientists, we should all take heed -- and be warned. Now, let's get those clinical trials cranking.

1 comment:

Birdman said...

Tragic indeed. I agree the studies need to get started in West Africa. A 7.5 hour FDA workshop on Ebola Immunology and a press release from the WHO this morning reveal the complexities with these trials in choosing assays and endpoints and dealing with many different funding organizations and governmental regulatory agencies. Everyone wants to do it their way.

http://videocast.nih.gov/summary.asp?Live=15350&bhcp=1

http://www.who.int/medicines/ebola-treatment/meetings/phaseII_clinical_trial_meeting_outcomes/en/