Haemorrhagic fever / Ebola outbreaks have been reported - accident, natural or bio-weapon?

[Bob]

Sierra Leone has quarantined 624 people in the past week

The death by an Ebola infection of a man in a town that had not experienced any cases of the deadly virus in months was the reason.

In addition to the 503 people in the village, 121 others who are believed to have come into contact with the patient outside of Tonkolili have been quarantined, according to Sierra Leone’s National Ebola Response Center.

Authorities were clear to describe this case as high-risk, particularly because the man’s father works as a taxi driver, and used his car to transport his son to two different hospitals. It is not known how many people came into contact with the father or took rides in his car in between his son’s diagnosis and transport.

The emergency Ebola program in the nation, the United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response (UNMEER), is shutting down, and "lack of resources" will be the next issue. Agencies "pulling out" with the diminishing of the "wildfires" could very well lead to flare-up's of outbreaks once again. It's not over until it is completely over.

(Source - associated news reports)

[Bob]

The trial began on March 23

The SBV Ebola inoculation was 100 per cent effective when it was tested on more than 4,000 people who were in close contact with Ebola patients in the African nation of Guinea, the World Health Organization said, citing a study published in the Lancet medical journal. The time after exposure had to be less than 10 days to achieve 100% protection.

(See earlier post HERE for more data)

The rVSV-EBOV vaccine was developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada and licensed to NewLink Genetics Corp. In November, Merck & Co. entered in an agreement to research, develop and distribute the drug.

NewLink Genetics Corp

(Source)

The VSV-ZEBOV (Ebola) vaccine candidate was originally developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC), and was subsequently licensed to a subsidiary of NewLink Genetics. In late 2014, Merck licensed the vaccine from NewLink Genetics to apply Merck's vaccine expertise to help accelerate the development of this promising candidate. Merck is now responsible for research, development and manufacturing of the rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine.

"NewLink appreciates the tremendous support for these studies from our many collaboration partners, including Merck, the government of Canada and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority), and especially the U.S. Department of Defense, which provided funding for the development and manufacturing of the vaccine, the World Health Organization, and the many other organizations that stepped forward in the crisis to support the development of this vaccine and the clinical studies in Africa," said Dr. Charles Link, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Scientific Officer of NewLink Genetics. "We hope that the interim data published today contribute to the successful registration of our vaccine candidate, which we believe can play an important part in diminishing the threat of Ebola."

Because of the Ebola crisis, a large team was assembled which included scientists, physicians, epidemiologists and other experts from the World Health Organization (WHO), Norway, Canada, Guinea, Doctors without Borders, the Universities of Florida, Maryland and Bern, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

Funding for the trial came from the Wellcome Trust, Norway, Canada, WHO, and Doctors without Borders. NewLink Genetics and Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada), one of the world's leading vaccine and pharmaceutical companies, provided the vaccine. Scientists from NewLink Genetics and Merck also gave detailed technical support on the vaccine and its administration to field trial staff.

The international partnership's statement can be found in a joint announcement of the Wellcome Trust, the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Doctors Without Borders, Merck, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Lancet, and Ministère de la Santé et de l'Hygiène Publique de Guinée.

[Bob]

Hopeful - Sierra Leone Has Just Had Its First Week of No New Ebola Cases

An entire village was put under quarantine when it was determined, Ebola, not Malaria was the reason the man died..


Sierra Leone has gone one full week without any new Ebola cases, a first since the start of the outbreak over a year ago.

On Monday, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that the Ebola response has moved into “phase 3,” which means responders are working to ensure that the last known cases of Ebola in the country have not spread.

The WHO traced the final cases to a man who worked in Freetown, the capital, and then returned to his home village of Massessehbeh in a northern region in the country, called Tonkolili. The man died in a hospital while receiving malaria treatment, and a postmortem test confirmed he had Ebola.

Responders put the entire village in quarantine for 21 days, bringing in water and food and providing information and support, while checking everyone daily for signs of Ebola.

Two family members of the man who died got Ebola and were treated.

On Aug. 14, nearly 600 people in the village came out of quarantine and there was a celebration, the WHO said.

The President of Sierra Leone, Ernest Bai Koroma, cut the quarantine tape.

Ebola is not over, but people are slowly waking up to the necessity to handle those infected properly.

Over 27,920 cases of Ebola have been reported and over 11,280 people have died from the disease since the start of the outbreak.

Quote from Craig A. Spencer, a humanitarian aid worker with Doctors Without Borders and the director of global health in emergency medicine at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Spencer caught Ebola and was involved with the controversy in NY City last year while he walked around in public while 'infected', :

It will be years before these West African countries are able to train nurses, develop and implement a sustainable medical education model, and supply an adequate number of homegrown health-care workers. Without sustained assistance from the international community, the nations of West Africa face a losing war of attrition with the epidemic.

Sagging global attention is putting at risk the rebuilding of a post-outbreak West Africa. All three countries are ranked among the lowest in the world in basic preventive and primary health care; the absence of disease surveillance systems allowed Ebola to go unrecognized despite being present in the region for years.

[Bob]

Lancet Infectious Diseases: Experimental post-exposure antiviral treatment may protect humans from Ebola virus

For the first time, UK physicians have demonstrated that antiviral-based therapies have the potential to protect humans from the deadly Ebola virus.

The report, published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal, describes a case-series of eight British health-care workers who were evacuated to the Royal Free Hospital in London, UK after possible accidental exposure to Ebola virus in Sierra Leone between January and March 2015.

Four of the health-care workers were considered to have been at significant risk of exposure to Ebola from needlestick injuries and were given post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) with the antiviral drug favipiravir (Toyama Chemical Company), with or without monoclonal antibodies (similar to ZMapp). (this Favipiravir drug was presented and discussed earlier in this thread)..

The other four workers had exposure that was not the result of a sharps injury, and were judged to be at lower risk. They were not given PEP, but were managed by watchful waiting.

None of the health-care workers went on to develop Ebola.

All eight healthcare workers remained healthy throughout the 42 day follow-up, with no signs of disease or detectable levels of virus in their blood.

The treatment regimen was well tolerated with no serious adverse events reported.

According to Dr Jacobs (from the Royal Free NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK), "We are excited to publish the first report of an antiviral-based postexposure treatment against Ebola-virus infection in humans. We believe this work justifies further study of this postexposure treatment to protect health-care workers accidentally exposed to Ebola virus in the field.

What is more, a similar approach to treat household contacts of Ebola cases may work to prevent a major route of spread during an epidemic."

Note: Favipiravir is approved in Japan for treating severe flu and has shown efficacy against the Ebola virus in vitro and in mice.

(more)

[Bob]

Although Sierra Leone had been hoping that it was 'over', it's not over until all cases in the bush have completed..

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - Ebola experts are in Sierra Leone's Kambia district investigating a case that emerged less than a week after the country's last known patient was discharged from a hospital, a World Health Organization spokeswoman said Monday.

Once the source of transmission is found and contacts are traced, a vaccination trial will also begin in the northern Sierra Leone area, WHO spokeswoman Dr. Margaret Harris said.

"It's a step back and a disappointment, but it wasn't a surprise as it's near the border with Guinea," where cases remain, said Harris, adding that further transmission can be stopped.

Samples from a 67-year-old woman's corpse tested positive for Ebola, WHO technical coordinator Margarette Lamunu said. The woman, who died and was safely buried Aug. 29, was treated at home in Kafta village, so more Ebola cases are expected, Lamunu said.

Liberia had a similar situation. A sample from a corpse tested positive in late June after the country had been declared Ebola-free in May.

(Source)

[Bob]

With the er to the measure of safety in mind Sierra Leone has issued quarantine orders after the death and confirmation of Ebola in the person described in the post above.

(Source)

Nearly 1,000 people in Sierra Leone have been put under quarantine following the death of a 67-year-old woman who tested positive for Ebola.

It comes five days into a six-week countdown for the country to be officially declared Ebola-free.

The quarantine will last for three weeks, provided no new cases are recorded.

More than 11,000 people have died since the start of the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia.

The quarantine is stricter than previous ones. It includes a curfew in which people will not be allowed to move from one house to another.

Soldiers and police have been deployed to keep the quarantine in Sellakaffta, a village in Kambia on the northern border with Guinea.

World Health Organization and Sierra Leone's health ministry are planning a vaccination programme for those who could have come into contact with the woman.

Guinea is still trying to contain its outbreak while the WHO announced that the Ebola virus had stopped spreading in Liberia for a second time on Thursday.

It had been declared free of Ebola transmission in May but then more cases were found the following month.

[Cidersomerset]

WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola again

By David Icke on 4th September 2015 Medical/Health




‘Liberia has been declared free of the deadly Ebola virus for the second
time this year by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO said on Thursday it could now declare the West African country
free of Ebola, because 42 days have passed since the last infected person
tested clear of the disease.

Forty-two days, according to the WHO, represents twice the maximum
incubation period.

“WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola virus transmission in the human
population,” the UN health agency said in a statement.’

Read more: WHO declares Liberia free of Ebola again

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2015/09...-Liberia-Ebola


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Hi Bob there are a couple other articles on the headline page that may or not be
of interest about other medical issues. I did not want to start another thread,
but they looked interesting , the documentary is quite old , I find the mainstream
reporters asked better questions back then in some of these old docks.

The documentary takes us back to the 1950's and the cure for Polio , which involved
Monkey's as test subjects and DNA use in the vaccines , which may have led to
contamination in the later African Polio immunisation programmes.....



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I don't think there any link between Aids and Ebola other than they are from the
same area and a lot medical research and experiments were conducted in the region .



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Shocking Documentary: Exposing The True Origins of HIV

By David Icke on 4th September 2015 Medical/Health, Mind Control

‘In the following documentary you will witness how scientists cutting corners, in an
attempt to be the first to create a vaccine for polio, let the HIV virus loose among
humanity.It is a truly shocking exposé of the world of science, which is all too often
thought of as being a squeaky clean institution.’

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NT3B2NF9cDk

====================================================


The Polio VACCINE is Causing the New Polio

By David Icke on 4th September 2015 Medical/Health



‘Yes, the vaccines are causing the problem. The authorities know it. It is admitted.
This is not conspiracy theory, but sad fact.The system is willing to break a few eggs
and ruin lives in order to achieve their global vaccination agenda – all while they
insist that vaccines are both safe and effective. To say otherwise – even in the face
of admitted facts – is pure heresy.A few years ago, I stumbled upon a big dirty
secret that is harming tens of thousands of children. It was being reported
overseas, but ignored by the mainstream media.

Doctors in India tracking problems inside the nation’s health system found a huge
spike in young children who were crippled after receiving the oral polio vaccine. I
wrote at the time:’

Read more: The Polio VACCINE is Causing the New Polio

http://truthstreammedia.com/2015/09/...the-new-polio/

[Bob]

I think Steve, the nature of this new "vaccine", or inoculation, one of two currently being looked at, (earlier posts talk about the technology behind the mindset which developed the current 'vaccine') one comes out of Canada, government labs, turned over to industry to manufacture and distribute... the formation is based on a virus which affects cows (bovines).. with a splice in of the needed ebola-like protein, so that the body recognizes and radically and rapidly creates antibodies to the foreign proteins thusly given to it.

I would really question what putting cow virus into humans by itself does, as far as auto-immune issues, arthritis, bone/joint diseases, or other organ or brain issues over time.. The 100% effectiveness claim for even exposed victims up to a certain time window is impressive numbers, but at what long term cost.. We just don't know (or do we?).

[Bob]

Ebola flare-up again in Sierra Leone

Hundreds of people are now quarantined as Ebola returns to a north Sierra Leone district.

Ebola by sex is suspected as the transmission method. This case is baffling to scientists and doctors alike. Transmission should NOT have happened.

The teenage girl, Kadiatu Thullah, died on Sunday at the International Medical Corps Ebola treatment unit, authorities said.

Emmanuel Conteh, head of the Ebola Response Centre for the district of Bombali in northern Sierra Leone, said that some 690 people in the village of Robuya where Kadiatu lived would be isolated for three weeks.

"Seven of her primary contacts have been taken to the Ebola treatment unit," he told Reuters. Three patients who came into contact with the girl at another health facility have also been taken to the treatment unit.

Conteh said health workers were investigating how the teenager got infected, since she had not traveled outside the village in years. Initial suspicions are that she had sex with an Ebola survivor.

"We are baffled by that possibility because the survivor in question was discharged in March, way beyond the 90-day period within which sexual transmission is said to be possible," Conteh said.

The head of Sierra Leone’s Ebola response, Pallo Conteh, has warned of a possible new surge of the virus after a woman died in the nearby Kambia district, on the border with Guinea. Nearly 1,000 people are into their second week of quarantine there, but a "high risk" contact remains on the loose, Conteh said.

(Source)

[Bob]

Rapid diagnostic system has been developed and applied to Ebola diagnosis in-the-field uses.

The system is based on "bio-chips", or methods that analyse samples directly on a semiconductor device, quickly and safely, not requiring (eventually) that the samples be sent to a lab for PCR testing.

(Source)

(from: http://www.nature.com/article-assets...ep14494-f1.jpg)

Opto-Fluidic-Analysis is the name coined for the process.. The older LAB technique requires "amplification" or creation in a machine many strands of the virus molecule to be analyzed. The cited problem is Ebola and similar diseases are based on RNA viruses.. The amplification technique works with DNA strands, not RNA, leading to difficulties.

The analysis method is called "single nucleic acid fluorescence detection". It works within liquid-core optical waveguides mounted on a silicon chip. The molecular analysis is completed in under ten minutes. This is an outstanding breakthrough.

The system shows promise in being able to in-the-field determine specifically what type of virus, and not just Ebola.

Contributors: H. Cai, J. W. Parks, T. A. Wall, M. A. Stott, A. Stambaugh, K. Alfson, A. Griffiths, R. A. Mathies, R. Carrion, J. L. Patterson, A. R. Hawkins & H. Schmidt

University of California, OptoElectronics department was instrumental in the development, Santa Cruz location of the University of California, School of Engineering, ECEn Department of Brigham Young University, Department of Virology and Immunology of the Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Department of Chemistry of the University of California Berkeley.

Also more general information: http://www.cnet.com/news/new-technol...read-of-ebola/

[Cidersomerset]

NATURAL NEWS....

Ebola isn't over: Guinea closes border as Sierra Leone goes
into lockdown to combat spread of disease

Saturday, October 03, 2015 by: Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
Tags: Ebola, Guinea border, Sierra Leone




It's been over a year since the largest ever outbreak of Ebola was
officially declared in West Africa, and the hemorrhagic virus is still
ravaging the region, according to new reports. Though new cases
of Ebola have reportedly tapered off in Sierra Leone, and all but
disappeared in neighboring Liberia, Guinea is still being hit hard,
which has prompted a new phase of border closures.

According to The Washington Post, Guinea closed its border with
Sierra Leone recently after a three-day lockdown was announced
in Sierra Leone that prompted residents to try to flee to neighboring
Guinea. Already stricken with a continued stream of new Ebola cases,
Guinea decided to take a more drastic approach to help eliminate the
disease throughout the country, starting with its entry points from Sierra Leone.

Guinean President Alpha Conde announced that a new phase of
emergency measures would be "reinforced" for a period of 45 days
in five separate districts throughout the country, including some
along the border with Sierra Leone. These new measures coincide
with mandatory border closures aimed at stopping Sierra Leoneans
from trying to escape their own country to avoid mandatory lockdowns.

Earlier, Guinea had simply tried to monitor those crossing its borders
to look for apparent Ebola symptoms, turning away those deemed
high-risk. But this method hasn't worked, say authorities, who say
keeping the country insulated from outsiders is the best approach to
take at the current time. But for some Guineans like Djalima Balde,
who was visiting Freetown, Sierra Leone, at the time, the new rules
have left her with no option for returning home.

"We weren't given any information," Balde is quoted as saying, as
she stood at a border crossing trying to return home to Guinea. "I'm
here with my three children, who are hungry. But they say we can't pass."


Officials in Sierra Leone threaten jail time for anyone who leaves
home during Ebola lockdown.Over in Sierra Leone, the three-day
lockdown effort has forced 6 million residents to stay indoors or
face arrest, according to Reuters. During this time, health officials
went door to door looking for hidden Ebola patients and educating
local residents about the nature of the virus.

"Tests are being carried out on their blood samples, and the results
will be in by Wednesday," stated OB Sisay of the National Ebola
Response Center, who helped conduct the sweep that led to a 191%
increase in reports of ill patients throughout the western region of the country.

In Freetown, 173 identified patients met an initial case definition for
Ebola, according to Sisay. And throughout the rest of the country,
there was a 50% increase in the number of sick people reported as
a result of the lockdown effort.

The second official lockdown to take place in Sierra Leone, the effort
is being hailed as a solid way to ensure that the already-declining
infection rate reaches nil at some point in the near future. A source
who declined to be identified says that during the lockdown there
were 495 reports of illness, 235 of which were suspected to be Ebola,
and 961 death alerts.

"There's a lot of resistance," stated Raphael Delhalle, a field coordinator
for Doctors Without Borders in Conakry, to The Wall Street Journal about
the continued challenges in trying to eradicate Ebola. "The population is
still thinking Ebola doesn't exist, or that we are giving them Ebola."

Sources for this article include:

http://www.washingtonpost.com

http://abcnews.go.com

http://af.reuters.com

http://www.wsj.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/051413_Eb...#ixzz3njE6L5Ao

[Bob]

India - Haemorrhagic fever outbreaks - (the CCHV is discussed earlier in this thread)..

the CCHF or the Crimean Congo Hemorrhagic Fever virus, is now believed to be prevalent across the country. A study by the National Institute of Virology (NIV) here has determined 17 outbreaks so far, affecting 50 people, most of whom succumbed to the virus.

The CCHF has a fatality rate of up to 80 per cent. First detected in January 2011 in Ahmedabad, the virus that spreads from animals to humans is now active across almost all states, with Himachal Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan and Gujarat reporting cases, a sero-survey shows.

NIV Director Dr Devendra Mourya, along with scientist Pragya Yadav and others, published these findings in the October issue of the Emerging Infectious Diseases journal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Atlanta.

The disease is usually transmitted to humans by bites of Hyalomma ticks, which are found on cattle, buffalo, goat and sheep. Humans can also acquire the virus through exposure to CCHF-infected blood and tissues or to body secretions of an affected animal, during slaughtering or allied procedures or at a hospital.

Detected in India for the first time only in 2011, the CCHF virus is widespread in several countries of Africa, Asia, South-East Europe and Eurasia. Hard ticks, especially Hyalomma ticks, are both a reservoir and a vector for the virus. Numerous wild and domestic animals, such as cattle, goats, sheep and hare, serve as amplifying hosts for the virus.

“Animal husbandry and abattoir workers are at high risk, as they are always in close contact with live animals or carcasses that may be infested with CCHFV-infected ticks. Infected animals do not develop severe disease as viraemia (presence of virus in the body) in livestock is short-lived (up to two weeks), and of low intensity,” Mourya said.

Yadav stressed the need for more higher-level laboratories to check the samples.

The diagnosis of high-risk group pathogens is a major concern in India, where only few Biosafety Level-3 (BSL-3) laboratories and just one BSL-4 laboratory exist, Yadav said.

(Source)

[Bob]

Ebola countries record first week with no new cases - mark the date, October 7th 2015...

With Ebola though, it's a bit of a challenge to feel for sure that the outbreaks have subsided. Although, today, without new cases being reported, there is a bit of a sigh of relief.

The three West African countries at the heart of the Ebola epidemic recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak began in March 2014.

The outbreak has so far killed more than 11,000 people in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

New cases have fallen sharply in 2015, but the WHO has warned that the disease could break out again.

The epidemic is the worst known occurrence of Ebola in history.

More than 500 people believed to have had dangerous contact with an Ebola patient remain under follow-up in Guinea, the WHO said in a report.

It also said several "high-risk" people linked to recent patients in Guinea and Sierra Leone had been lost track of.

Liberia has already been declared free of the disease after 42 days without a new case. It is the second time the country received the declaration, following a flare-up in June.

Sierra Leone released its last known Ebola patients on 28 September and must now wait to be declared free of the disease.

Guinea's most recent cases were recorded on 27 September.

(Source)

[Cidersomerset]

Ebola countries record first week with no new cases - mark the date, October 7th 2015...

Technically not a new case and only a precaution......

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Ebola detected again in Scottish nurse Pauline Cafferkey

9 minutes ago.....From the section Scotland

Pauline Cafferkey

Pauline Cafferkey thanked medical staff, who she said saved her life

Ebola has been detected in a Scottish nurse who first contracted the
virus in December last year.Greater Glasgow health board has
confirmed that the virus is present in Pauline Cafferkey but said it was
left over from the original infection. It is not thought to be contagious.

The 39-year-old has been flown back to an isolation unit at the Royal
Free Hospital in London.

She contracted the virus while helping to fight Ebola in Sierra Leone.

Ms Cafferkey, who is from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, spent
almost a month in an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital at the
beginning of the year after contracting the virus in December 2014.

There is not yet any information about her condition, but government
sources have described her transfer to the specialist unit as a "highly
precautionary process".

They have also said there are currently no significant risks to public health.

[Cidersomerset]

Another report...........




Ebola scare as man dies in Nigerian city of Calabar

8 hours ago....From the section Africa

Ebola checks at Lagos airport, Nigeria. 4 Aug 2014

Nigeria put checks in place last year after a patient died from Ebola

An Ebola scare has been reported in southern Nigeria, a year after the country was
declared free of the virus. Ten people have been quarantined after coming into
contact with a man showing Ebola-like symptoms,officials said.

The man reportedly died shortly after being admitted to hospital in Calabar.
On Wednesday, the three countries worst affected by Ebola - Guinea, Sierra Leone
and Liberia - recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak
began in March 2014.

More than 11,000 people died in the West African Ebola outbreak, the worst known
occurrence of the disease in history.



New cases have fallen sharply in 2015, but the World Health Organization (WHO)
has warned that the disease could break out again.The latest scare happened when
a patient arrived at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.

"We have sent blood samples for testing and quarantined identified contacts," said
Queeneth Kalu, the hospital's chief medical director.

Those quarantined included nurses who had attended to the patient, he added.

Ebola arrived in Nigeria in July 2014 when a Liberian businessman collapsed at
Lagos airport. In all, 19 people were infected of whom seven died.

WHO declared the country Ebola free in October last year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-34482989

[Cidersomerset]

Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey 'in serious condition'

1 hour ago.....From the section Scotland



Pauline Cafferkey previously spent a month in the specialist
isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London

A Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone last year
is in a "serious condition" after being readmitted to an isolation
unit in London.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed that the virus is still
present in Pauline Cafferkey's body after being left over from the
original infection.

She is not thought to be contagious.

The 39-year-old has been flown back to the isolation unit at the Royal
Free Hospital in London.Bodily tissues can harbour the Ebola infection
months after the person appears to have fully recovered.


Ms Cafferkey, from Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire, spent almost a
month in the unit at the beginning of the year after contracting the
virus in December 2014

Read More....

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34483584

[Bob]

GS-5734 - broad spectrum antiviral solution?

The compound, known as GS-5734, should be further developed as a potential treatment for Ebola.

In animal studies, treatment initiated on day three post-infection with Ebola virus resulted in 100 percent survival of the monkeys, the study noted.

They also exhibited a substantial reduction in viral load and a marked decrease in the physical signs of disease, including internal bleeding and tissue damage.

"The compound, which is a novel nucleotide analog prodrug, works by blocking the viral RNA replication process," explained Travis Warren, principal investigator at the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID).

"If the virus cannot make copies of itself, the body's immune system has time to take over and fight off the infection," Warren noted.

In cell culture studies, GS-5734 was active against a broad spectrum of viral pathogens.

These included Lassa virus, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus, Marburg virus, and multiple variants of Ebola virus, including the Makona strain causing the most recent outbreak in West Africa.

"This is the first example of a small molecule--which can be easily prepared and made on a large scale--that shows substantive post-exposure protection against Ebola virus in nonhuman primates," USAMRIID science director Sina Bavari said.

"In addition to 100 percent survival in treated animals, the profound suppression of viral replication greatly reduced the severe clinical signs of disease," Bavari noted.

Taken together, the robust therapeutic efficacy observed in primates and the potential for broad-spectrum antiviral activity suggest that further development of GS-5734 for the treatment of Ebola virus and other viral infections is warranted, Bavari said.

Gilead Sciences, a California-based company is currently conducting phase one clinical studies of the compound in healthy human volunteers to establish the safety and effectiveness of the compound.

(Source)

Abstract: Background: The ongoing Ebola virus (EBOV) outbreak in West Africa has resulted in >27,000 infections with mortality exceeding 40%. There is no antiviral therapy with proven efficacy against EBOV. GS-5734 is a nucleotide prodrug with potent in vitro anti-EBOV activity in multiple relevant cell types. It is also active against the EBOV Makona/2014 variant and other filoviruses.

Methods: GS-5734 was tested in a randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled study in EBOV-infected rhesus monkeys, a model of lethal EVD in humans.

Six groups of monkeys infected with EBOV (N = 6/group) received once-daily intravenous (IV) dosing of placebo or GS-5734 at 3 to 10 mg/kg/day for 12 days initiated on Day 0 to 3 post viral challenge. Survival to Day 28, plasma viral RNA (vRNA), hematology and coagulation parameters, clinical chemistry, and behavioral signs were monitored.

Results: All placebo-treated animals died by Day 9. Treatment with 3 mg/kg GS-5734 initiated on Day 0 or 2 was associated with up to 67% survival. In contrast, treatment with10 mg/kg initiated on Day 3, a time at which 50% of animals had detectable systemic viremia, followed by 3 or 10 mg/kg for the rest of the dosing period resulted in 100% survival.

Treatment with 10 mg/kg/day was associated with a Day 7 mean plasma vRNA reduction of 5 log10 copies/mL relative to placebo (P < 0.001) and profound suppression of EVD signs including behavioral depression, thrombocytopenia, coagulopathy, as well as serum markers of organ failure and tissue damage.

There were no signs of drug-related toxicity detected in GS-5734-treated EBOV-infected animals.

IV dosing of 3 to 10 mg/kg GS-5734 to uninfected rhesus monkeys generated persistent inhibitory levels of active nucleoside triphosphate in PBMCs.

Conclusions: GS-5734 is the first small molecule antiviral demonstrating robust therapeutic effect in monkey model of EVD.

IV dosing initiated 3 days post infection was associated with 100% survival and marked suppression of EVD, supporting further development of the compound as a potential treatment of EBOV infection in humans.

[Cidersomerset]

Update......

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Ebola nurse's close contacts identified

1 hour ago......From the section Scotland

Ms Cafferkey is still being treated at a specialist isolation unit in London

A total of 58 people who had been in close contact with Scottish nurse
Pauline Cafferkey, who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone, have been identified.

Ms Cafferkey remains in a serious condition after being readmitted to the
Royal Free Hospital in London last week.

She underwent a month of treatment at the same hospital in January.

Health officials said 40 of the 58 people identified had been offered vaccinations.

They were thought to have potentially had contact with Ms Cafferkey's bodily fluids.

Of these, 25 have now been vaccinated, with the remaining 15 either declining
to be vaccinated or unable to receive it due to other medical conditions.

'Closely monitored'

The close contacts of Ms Cafferkey were said to be a mixture of healthcare workers,
her family, friends and community contacts. A statement released by the health board
said: "All 58 close contacts are being closely monitored. This includes a period of 21
days since their last exposure where they will have their temperature taken twice daily,
restrictions placed on travel and, in the case of healthcare workers they have been
asked not to have direct patient contact during this period.

"The 25 who were vaccinated will undergo additional monitoring because the vaccine
is still being evaluated.

"It is important to stress once again that there is no risk to the general public. Ebola is
not spread through ordinary social contact, such as shaking hands or sitting next to
someone. Nor is it spread through airborne particles."

The rVSV-ZEBOV vaccine offered to close contacts of Ms Cafferkey is currently being
trialled in collaboration with the World Health Organisation and has been tested in more
than 7,000 people during the recent outbreak of Ebola virus infection in Guinea.

It is an unlicensed vaccine, which is currently being trialled.

'Not infectious'

Ms Cafferkey was flown in a military aircraft to the specialist infectious diseases unit at
the Royal Free last week.She had earlier been admitted to the Queen Elizabeth University
Hospital in Glasgow after feeling unwell.Subsequent tests showed that the Ebola virus
was still present in her body. Ms Cafferkey had contracted Ebola while working as a
volunteer with Save the Children at a treatment centre in Kerry Town, in Sierra Leone.
She was diagnosed on 29 December last year, after returning to Glasgow via London,
and was treated at the Royal Free.At the time of her release from the hospital,
Dr Michael Jacobs, who had been helping to treat her, said Ms Cafferkey had completely
recovered and was "not infectious in any way".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-34509572

[Bob]

To me, what is still very significant is that she IS testing positive for Ebola after having been cleared of it. How could it be possible unless it was residing in the Eye as reported in other's "cleared"? And why would the immune system not fully attack such? Another question, in my posts above I mention the mutation of the current strains (the post dealing with the drug treatment method)... Where else does Ebola lurk in the body? Another set of questions about "is it really over?" when new cases haven't been reported for 42 days?

[Bob]

Guinea back with Ebola -

WHO spokeswoman Margaret Harris told a U.N. briefing in Geneva that one case was in Forecariah, western Guinea, and appeared to be linked to a previously known chain of infection, while the other was in the capital Conakry.

"Guinea hadn't got to the stage where we were looking at 42 days with no infection."

Even after that period, Ebola may lurk in the population. This month a study showed the semen of male survivors can harbour the virus for nine months, while a British nurse has fallen critically ill again 10 months after recovering from Ebola.

The medical toolkit for tackling Ebola has been transformed in the past few months by the success of a trial vaccine, which is now used to treat each new case and their contacts who may also be at risk from the highly contagious virus.

But Harris said that the trial comes to an end in mid-November, potentially putting a question mark over the use of the vaccine beyond that date.