According to a study published today in the journal Nature, the experimental drug ZMapp cured all 18 monkeys infected with the deadly Ebola virus, even those who had experienced bleeding symptoms and were only a few hours away from death.
Even monkeys that had received no treatment until five days after infected eventually survived. According to scientists, the five days in monkeys corresponds to 9-11 days of illness in humans.
Although two American volunteers who had been infected by the virus in Liberia treated as allocated in ZMapp, doctors do not yet know whether the experimental drug helped. A Liberian doctor who also received the same drug died earlier this week, as a Spanish missionary.
The ZMapp, manufactured by Mapp Biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, has never been tested in humans, and the study published in Nature was the first conducted on monkeys. The success, therefore, is a “monumental achievement”, as stated by Thomas Gkeismpert a virologist at the University of Texas, commenting on the survey.
To date there are no approved drugs or vaccines for Ebola. Very soon, however, is expected to begin the testing of two vaccine of the companies GlaxoSmithKline and NewLink Genetics.
The scientists, led by Gary Kompingker of Public Health in Canada, administered the drug last spring in 18 macaques, three, four, five days after the infected with Ebola. Three other monkeys, who were the “control group” and not treated, died eight days after they were infected. All 18 survived, even those who had experienced symptoms such as liver failure and bleeding, something which Kompingker characterized as “beyond expectations.”
“These are very encouraging results,” said from his part the professor of virology at the University of Warwick David Evans, who was not involved in the study. This success indicates that ZMapp “is the best choice” for the treatment of Ebola and should be tested in humans to start using “as soon as possible,” said the team of Kompingker.
On the 12th of August the company Mapp announced that stocks of the drug had already exhausted and although started preparing new, this process will take some time.
