Ebola Drugs Proving Up To 90% Effective

Trials of Ebola drugs are recording survival rates of up to 90%. 

Four drugs have been trialled on patients in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), where a current outbreak has infected more than 2,5000 and killed more than 1,800 over the course of the past year. 

The results of recent trials have raised hopes that Ebola can be treated. Two of the four drugs will now be used to treat patients in the country, REGN-EB3 and mAb114. The other two drugs have been dropped from the trials after they proved to be less effective. The trials have been coordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and have been running since November 2018. 

Trials with REGN-EB3 and mAb114 have recorded survival rates as high as 94% and 89% respectively when patients were treated early, or 71% and 66% overall. 

The drugs were developed using antibodies that were collected from those that have survived Ebola. The antibodies are then used to attack the virus in patients that have contracted the disease.

Meanwhile, WHO has vaccinated more than 1,300 people in Goma in a bid to contain any spread in the city following the death of a resident and his family members. Those vaccinated include contacts of the victims and frontline workers. No new cases have been reported in the city since August 2.