As of August 19 , the 2240 suspected or corroborate cases of Ebola Virus Disease ( EVD ) in West Africa have ensue in 1229 deaths ; though it ’s fear that the numbers are underreported . The outbreak go forward to arise and discourse option are fairly limited , as there really are n’t any effective okay antivirals . The World Health Organization ( WHO ) is considering unconventional technique in purchase order to inhibit the spread , include last week ’s blessing of the use of unapproved observational treatment . WHO is now debating whether or not to begin mete out stock from those who have survived the disease into the demented , in an try topass antibodies along .
When a pathogen embark the body , the immune system is able to recognize it is foreign because of proteins on the pathogen ’s surface ( call the antigen ) . The resistant system is then capable to create antibody that can eliminate the threat , and is also able to recollect the antigen in sheath it comes up again . If someone presently ill was given a blood transfusion from someone who had overcome the disease , that could give them the antibodies need to well press the infection . This method is known as a convalescent blood serum and while it has been an effective technique in other illnesses , there is n’t a pile of hard grounds that it works with the Ebola virus .
Studies affect the use of convalescent serum are fairly limited . There was an eruption of EVD in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1995 ; then known as Zaire . The eruption was triggered by the same strain of Ebola that is currently causing disease , though the mortality rate was 80 % , compare the 55 % of the current outbreak . Aconvalescent blood serum was administeredto eight individual from five sources , and seven of those patients hold up . That seems to be a middling convincing argumentation that the blood serum should be used , right-hand ? Well , not so fast .
The seven patient who receive the blood serum and live on were all given the treatment 7 - 15 days after the onset of symptom , and were likely go away to survive the malady anyway . The patient that died was give the blood serum 4 days after becoming symptomatic , so that study did n’t move over any evidence that the serum really did anything .
Of of course , that was a very small-scale trial and many other divisor could have play a role in the outcome . However , studies using beast role model that were well control have not been able to produce final result that were any more bright .
American doctor Kent Brantly received convalescent serum from a 14 - year - old patient role he had treated in the beginning in the summer before fall inauspicious himself . Brantly and his associate Nancy Writebol also received anexperimental serumknown asZMapp , which was based off of three different antibody from animal rootage . Though Brantlyissued a statementlast week saying he was regain strength , it is unknown what role , if any , the serums flirt in his recovery .
However , if WHO does approve the function of this technique , it is something that could be widely apply comparatively easily . While experimental serums are make in minor amount on a different continent , doctors in West Africa have contiguous access to the EVD survivors for line donor . While the profligate would demand to be screened for other infectious disease like HIV , it could be an option worth exploring in some domain .
[ chapeau tip : Kai Kupferschmidt , Science ]
NOTE : An earlier version of this clause read " … blood would ask to be screened for other infectious disease like HIV / AIDS … " HIV is a transmissible virus , but AIDS is a condition stimulate by HIV . The article has been edited to correct and elucidate the decimal point that AIDS itself is not an infective disease .
