A First Ever Clinical Trial -- For A Therapeutic, For Marburg's -- In Rwanda, Using Gilead's Remdesivir (The Covid Therapeutic)... Now Underway.

As with Mpox, it is increasingly looking like the rate of new cases is. . . trending in the right direction -- toward zero.

As ever though, with no approved anti-virals for the specific Marburg outbreak, we have lots of work to do, yet. To that end, Gilead is testing its highly effective COVID treatment (not a vaccine) called Remdesivir, in Rwanda now. There is significant reason to think that it will work -- using much the same mechanisms of action -- as the ones that largely successfully bested viral loads, in COVID-19. Here's that latest news:

. . .Rwanda has begun the world's first clinical trial for a treatment of the Ebola-like Marburg virus, which has killed more than a dozen people in the country, the World Health Organization said Tuesday. . . .

"Encouraging news from Rwanda," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

He hailed that the country had launched the "world's first clinical trial for Marburg virus disease", in collaboration with his agency, involving the use of a drug used to treat COVID-19.

The Marburg outbreak was first announced in Rwanda in late September and a vaccination program using a trial vaccine was launched earlier this month. . . .

Marburg is transmitted to humans from fruit bats, and is part of the so-called filovirus family that includes Ebola. With a fatality rate of up to 88 percent, Marburg's highly infectious hemorrhagic fever is often accompanied by bleeding and organ failure.

There are currently no officially approved vaccines nor approved antiviral treatments, but potential treatments, including blood products, immune and drug therapies are being evaluated. . . .

Now you know -- and do let football gods find the Buffs to be ready, when tested in Arizona -- at 3 pm local, this Saturday. Smile. . . .

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