Researchers at Siriraj Hospital, part of Mahidol University, claim they have developed the world’s first “antibody treatment” that could cure Ebola virus infections.
At least a year away from practical application, the antibody was called a significant step toward finding a cure for the disease, which has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa this year. Currently there is no cure, although several experimental drugs have been deployed in the battle against the epidemic.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation said Wednesday it has at least 1,500 doses of an experimental vaccine ready to be given to medical personnel fighting the disease in Africa. The German Press Agency said WHO has been working to speed up testing of two experimental-stage vaccines – chimpanzee adenovirus developed by British company GlaxoSmithKline and a US government laboratory, and VSV developed by Canada’s health agency.
Siriraj’s antibody – developed with the use of human genes, not the Ebola virus itself – is small enough to enter infected cells and access virus proteins within them, doctors said. The antibody is five times smaller than what is being tested in the United States, said Dr Udom Kachinthorn, dean of the medical science faculty at Siriraj.
He said the Thai antibody had different structures and mechanisms and was more efficient, making a cure derived from it more effective.
Researchers used synthesised Ebola genes in development of the antibody and tested them on samples of haemorrhagic-fever viruses similar, but less virulent, than the five Ebola variants.
Thailand does not possess a Biosafety Level 4 facility required to test on the Ebola virus itself. Doctors also admitted they have not been in contact with the World Health Organisation regarding the purported cure.
The next step will be to conduct testing on animals before moving on to human trials. If the tests are successful, the antibody would then need to be mass produced. That step would be at least a year away, Dr Udom cautioned.
However, he added, the Thai pharmaceutical sector could expedite the drug’s development, pending more tests. To facilitate that, Siam Bioscience, a joint Thai-Cuban pharmaceutical venture launched this year, will join in the research.
Doctors, eager to promote the antibody treatment as the first of its kind developed in Thailand, emphasised it is not a vaccine. Dr Wanpen Chaicumpa, head of the Ebola antibody-development team, said the treatment would be administered after infection through injection.
The Latest on: Ebola cure
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Ebola cure” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Ebola cure
- Fight Ebola with homeopathy - MPon April 25, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Asked whether he thought homeopathy could cure Ebola, Mr Browning said: "It's not for me to go down that track at all. The World Health Organisation, world health authorities are doing that." ...
- COVID may have eroded doctors' belief that they are obligated to treat infectious patientson April 25, 2024 at 12:22 pm
A systematic review posted in Clinical Infectious Diseases reveals that, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many physicians felt less ethically obligated to provide care to infectious-disease patients if ...
- Ebola's exponential growthon April 23, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Here are three bad things about Ebola. The “bodily fluids” that ... only an estimated 18% of the victims are being taken to treatment centers (where, of course, most of them will die).
- Zombie Deer, Prion Disease & Another Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hellon April 23, 2024 at 7:08 am
Between COVID, HIV, Dengue, Ebola, and emerging flu variants, the last thing the world needs is another type of pathogen, let alone with no treatment or cure. But, although rare, prion diseases, such ...
- Believed to be the source of Ebola, this Kenya cave could be ground zero for the next pandemicon April 22, 2024 at 6:54 pm
Located in Kenya's Mount Elgon National Park, the Kitum Cave was reportedly the origin point for the Ebola and Marburg viruses, of which the latter has been termed as 'epidemic-prone' by the World ...
- Retrospective genomic characterization of the 2020 Ebola outbreakon April 19, 2024 at 8:18 am
Epidemiology researchers are harnessing tools developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, to untangle the origins of the 2020 Ebola virus disease outbreak in ...
- Soligenix Granted Orphan Drug Designation for Vaccine to Treat MARV Infectionon April 15, 2024 at 10:12 am
Soligenix, Inc. announced that the Office of Orphan Products Development of the FDA has granted orphan drug status ...
- Page settingson January 9, 2024 at 12:21 pm
Ebola virus, causing outbreaks of fatal infection ... Treatments can help manage condition, no known cure Diagnosed by medical professional Often requires lab test or imaging Transmitted through ...
- Battling the Ebola outbreak in DR Congoon November 9, 2023 at 1:03 am
Ebola treatment center set on fire in Butembo, DRC in February. Despite the security problems, Dr. Keita says he and his team are staying, and are determined to stop the outbreak by the end of the ...
- Ebola viruson November 9, 2022 at 4:00 pm
An urgent treatment centre had to be closed due to an "infection control issue", an NHS trust says. The BBC got rare access to Mubende, one of the two districts at the epicentre of the Ebola ...
via Bing News
