EBOLA DRUG TRIAL STARTS IN LIBERIA

A trial of a potential drug to treat Ebola has
started at a Medecins Sans Frontieres centre in
Liberia.
The antiviral - brincidofovir - is being tested on
Ebola patients on a voluntary basis. People who
do not consent to it receive standard care.
Oxford University scientists leading the research
say initial results are expected in the next few
months.
A study involving a similar drug - favipiravir -
began in Guinea in December.
Compassionate use
More than 8,000 people have died from Ebola
during this outbreak, the majority in the worst-
affected countries of Guinea, Sierra Leone and
Liberia.
While a handful of experimental drugs,
including brincidofovir and favipiravir, have
been given on an ad hoc, compassionate basis in
the last year, none has yet been proven to work
against the virus in scientific human trials.
A huge international effort - involving the
World Health Organization, MSF, drug
companies, the Wellcome Trust, and other global
health organisations - aims to fast-track
treatments that have been identified as
potential options.
Prof Peter Horby, one of the chief investigators
at Oxford University, said: "Conducting clinical
trials of investigational drugs in the midst of a
humanitarian crisis is a new experience for us
all, but we are determined not to fail the
people of West Africa.
"We are trying a number of different
approaches simultaneously as there is only a
short window of opportunity to tackle this virus
during the outbreak."

Blood tests are used to establish whether a
patient has Ebola
Scientists at Oxford say brincidofovir was chosen
because it is effective against Ebola-infected
cells in laboratories, has been deemed safe in
more than 1,000 patients in trials against other
viruses and can be given conveniently as a
tablet.
Researchers aim to recruit more than 100 people
and will compare death rates at the centre
before and after the trial.
'No guarantees'
The other antiviral drug, favipiravir, being
tested by the French National Institute of
Health, is already used to treat influenza.
It is offered to all patients who receive care at
the MSF treatment centre in Gueckedou,
Guinea, and early results are expected in a few
months' time.
Other Ebola therapies
Scientists are testing other drugs and
treatments.
Oxford University and the company Tekmira
hope to establish a further study of a potential
treatment which aims to interrupt the genetic
code of the virus called TKM-Ebola.
Another approach is to use blood plasma from
patients who have recovered from the disease.
Trials of this are under way in Guinea's capital,
led by the Antwerp Institute of Tropical
Medicine. This treatment is also being given to
the British nurse Pauline Cafferkey in hospital
in London.
And trials involving three separate vaccines
designed to prevent people from getting the
disease, are taking place in Switzerland, UK, US
and Mali.
But while a number of different pharmaceutical
attempts are being made to tackle this virus,
experts say other strategies - including early
and adequate hydration and nutrition - are
extremely important.