Ebola drugs hope
Sharks have been synonymous with the movie Jaws my whole life. When I think about sharks, I picture a great white and hear John Williams’ legendary theme. Der dur. Der dur. Der dur. Terrifying. I have a similar reaction whenever I think about Ebola.
I first read about the virus in Richard Preston’s book The Hot Zone, a dramatisation of an outbreak in a United States lab in 1989.
Ebola made its first documented appearance in 1976, causing an outbreak in Sudan and another near the Ebola River in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo (DCR). More than 600 people were infected. Half of those in the Sudanese outbreak died, but in the DCR it was almost nine out of 10.
When Preston wrote his book, there had been more than 1000 documented Ebola cases worldwide, almost all restricted to African countries. With no known treatments, more than 800 of those people had died. Add to that the dramatic descriptions of infected people bleeding from every orifice (spoiler, most don’t), and Ebola gained the status of the great white shark.
It became one of the most feared viruses on the planet, despite being far less likely to infect the average person than the flu or HIV, which have killed millions.
In 2014, the largest Ebola outbreak in history started in Guinea. The virus quickly spread to neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone. With the very real chance Ebola could go global, money was pumped into finding a cure.
The devastating outbreak took two years to bring under control, with nearly 30,000 people infected and more than 11,000 deaths. But with it came several promising drugs and vaccines.
Since November, four drugs have been tested in a trial in the DRC, which is experiencing another outbreak. Early signs are very promising. One of the drugs cut the death rate to as low as 6 per cent.
Unfortunately, to be most effective, the drugs need to be taken as soon as possible after symptoms appear, but fear and stigma mean many people delay seeking treatment. Let’s hope these African communities can destigmatise Ebola.
To be most effective, Ebola drugs need to be taken as soon as possible after symptoms appear, but fear and stigma mean many people delay seeking treatment.