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Guéckédou (Agenzia Fides) – The first results of clinical tests with the experimental anti-viral drug Favipiravir to fight Ebola reveal that the drug can reduce mortality in patients with low levels of the virus in the blood, but has no effect with high viral level in persons presenting a serious form of the disease. This emerged from a statement by the NGO Medicines Sans Frontieres (MSF) sent to Fides. The present clinical testing, carried out by the French institute of research, INSERM, began on 17 December 2014 at the MSF Ebola Centre at Guéckédou, in Guinea, where the epidemic started. Since then it has been extended to include patients at treatment centres in Nzérékoré and Macenta, also in Guinea. “Our patients are fully informed about the drug and the clinical tests before they decide whether or not to take part” said the doctor in charge of the MSF tests. So far none of the patients at Guéckédou have chosen not to participate. However it is necessary to maintain a sense of realism. “We have seen that the treatment is effective for some patients but not for others” says MSF nurse Julien Demeuldre, in Guéckédou. Today INSERM has issued some more information: for patients with a relatively low level of Ebola in the blood, favipiravir can make the difference lowering the death rate by between 30 and 15 per cent. However for patients with a high viral presence, and for young babies, this experimental drug is not effective. Research must go ahead. At the same time, the MSF Ebola Treatment Centre in Conakry has begun trial medication using the plasma of adult former Ebola patients now free of the virus and whose plasma contains Ebola antibodies. At the end of February, again in Guinea, MSF will start studying an experimental vaccine against the disease. (AP) (24/2/2015 Agenzia Fides)
