Three vials containing an experimental drug stored at subzero
temperatures were flown into Liberia last week in a last-ditch effort
to save two American missionary workers who had contracted Ebola,
according to a source familiar with details of the treatment.
The drug appears to have worked, sources say. Dr. Kent Brantly's and
Nancy Writebol's conditions significantly improved after receiving the
medication, sources say. Brantly was able to walk into Emory
University Hospital in Atlanta after being evacuated to the United
States last week, and Writebol is expected to arrive in Atlanta on
Tuesday.
On July 22, Brantly woke up feeling feverish. Fearing the worst,
Brantly immediately isolated himself. Writebol's symptoms started
three days later. A rapid field blood test confirmed the infection in
both of them after they had become ill with fever, vomiting and
diarrhea.
It's believed both Brantly and Writebol, who worked with the aid
organization Samaritan's Purse, contracted Ebola from another health
care worker at their hospital in Liberia, although the official
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention case investigation has yet
to be released.
A representative from the National Institutes of Health contacted
Samaritan's Purse in Liberia and offered the experimental treatment,
known as ZMapp, for the two patients, according to the source.
The drug was developed by the biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical
Inc., which is based in San Diego. The patients were told that this
treatment had never been tried before in a human being but had shown
promise in small experiments with monkeys.
According to company documents, four monkeys infected with Ebola
survived after being given the therapy within 24 hours after
infection. Two of four other monkeys that started therapy within 48
hours after infection also survived. One monkey that was not treated
died within five days of exposure to the virus.
Brantly and Writebol were aware of the risk of taking a new, little
understood treatment and gave informed consent, according to two
sources familiar with the care of the missionary workers. In the
monkeys, the experimental serum had been given within 48 hours of
infection. Brantly didn't receive it until he'd been sick for nine
days.
The medicine is a three-mouse monoclonal antibody, meaning that mice
were exposed to fragments of the Ebola virus and then the antibodies
generated within the mice's blood were harvested to create the
medicine. It works by preventing the virus from entering and infecting
new cells.
The Ebola virus causes viral hemorrhagic fever, which refers to a
group of viruses that affect multiple organ systems in the body and
are often accompanied by bleeding.
Early symptoms include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain,
headaches and a sore throat. They later progress to vomiting,
diarrhea, impaired kidney and liver function -- and sometimes internal
and external bleeding.
The ZMapp vials reached the hospital in Liberia where Brantly and
Writebol were being treated Thursday morning. Doctors were instructed
to allow the serum to thaw naturally without any additional heat. It
was expected that it would be eight to 10 hours before the medicine
could be given, according to a source familiar with the process.
Brantly asked that Writebol be given the first dose because he was
younger and he thought he had a better chance of fighting it, and she
agreed. However, as the first vial was still thawing, Brantly's
condition took a sudden turn for the worse.
Brantly began to deteriorate and developed labored breathing. He told
his doctors he thought he was dying, according to a source with
firsthand knowledge of the situation.
Knowing his dose was still frozen, Brantly asked if he could have
Writebol's now-thawed medication. It was brought to his room and
administered through an IV. Within an hour of receiving the
medication, Brantly's condition dramatically improved. He began
breathing easier; the rash over his trunk faded away. One of his
doctors described the events as "miraculous."
By the next morning, Brantly was able to take a shower on his own
before getting on a specially designed Gulfstream air ambulance jet to
be evacuated to the United States.
Writebol also received a vial of the medication. Her response was not
as remarkable, according to sources familiar with the treatment.
-CNN
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