Researchers Say Ebola Fight Will Be Long, Examine Old, Novel Therapies To Treat Patients
News outlets report on scientists’ predictions that it will take at least one year to contain the West African Ebola outbreak, as well as their work to develop treatments from new and old technologies.
New York Times: U.S. Scientists See Long Fight Against Ebola
“The deadly Ebola outbreak sweeping across three countries in West Africa is likely to last 12 to 18 months more, much longer than anticipated, and could infect hundreds of thousands of people before it is brought under control, say scientists mapping its spread for the federal government…” (Grady, 9/12).
Politico: Ebola crisis forces new look at old therapies
“…The use of convalescent plasma is highly experimental, potentially dangerous — and a very old treatment. It reappears in desperate times such as these, where despite tens of millions of U.S. dollars donated for supplies and speedier drug and vaccine research, Ebola rampages out of control. There’s even an emerging black market for the blood of Ebola survivors, according to the World Heath Organization…” (Allen, 9/14).
Reuters: First person in U.K. trial to get experimental Ebola shot next week
“The first human volunteer in a fast-tracked British safety trial of an experimental vaccine to fight Ebola is to be injected with the shot next week, organizers of the trial said on Friday. The candidate Ebola vaccine is being co-developed by the United States National Institutes of Health and the British drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline…” (Kelland, 9/12).
VOA News: Health Care Specialists Consider Different Treatments for Ebola
“…Another potential approach is to test existing drugs that may help Ebola patients. Many of these are generic and inexpensive. A New York Times editorial suggests medications that are already used to disable other viruses, as well as drugs that modulate the immune system’s inflammatory response…” (Eagle, 9/13).
The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.