Canadian scientists have got saved from death monkeys which were have been infected with a deadly dose of Ebola, within the recent study of an experimental drug which was used on a number of Ebola victims throughout West Africa. The antibody based compound called ZMapp saved 100 % of 18 Ebola-infected rhesus macaques, even if the drug was given up to 5 days following infection with the virus.
All treated monkeys recovered fully and show no side-effects, said Dr. Gary Kobinger, chief of special pathogens at Canada’s National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. Three Ebola-infected macaques that didn’t receive ZMapp died.
It is the first study reported in monkeys of the version of ZMapp now being administered in the West African outbreak.
The unlicensed cocktail, produced in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada, still requires testing in humans and is unlikely to ever be produced in sufficient enough batches to make an impact on the current Ebola outbreak ravaging parts of West Africa. A notice on the website of ZMapp’s developer, Mapp Biopharmaceuticals Inc., said the available supply has been exhausted.
The drug is generated in tobacco plants genetically modified to produce the antibodies and Kobinger said that, from what he understands, it takes one month to produce 20 to 40 doses.
It’s not clear how the experiments in monkeys would translate into humans.
But Kobinger said the results are a promising signal the experimental compound might be the longsought therapy against one of the most deadly pathogens known.
Meanwhile, Canada’s public health agency said three mobile lab team members, who were supporting the Ebola outbreak response efforts in Sierra Leone, arrived safely in Canada Friday evening.
The three were pulled back early as a precautionary measure after three people in their hotel complex were infected with Ebola.
The team members arrived on a private charter plane Friday night and travelled to private residences once they were deemed healthy by a quarantine officer. They will be voluntarily self-isolating for the remainder of the incubation period. The agency said the risk to Canadians remains “very low.”
