Survivors blood to treat Ebola

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                        Health                                                                                            

                        A Plan to Use Survivors’ Blood for Ebola Treatment in Africa

By ANDREW POLLACK OCT. 3, 2014

    Photo

                Health officials hope to recruit survivors, like Julius Prout of Liberia, to give blood to help others.

            Credit
            Jerome Delay/Associated Press        

    With
 no proven drugs to treat Ebola and experimental ones in short supply, 
the health authorities are planning to turn instead to a treatment that 
is walking around in the outbreak zone in West Africa.
That
 would be the blood of people who have been sickened by the Ebola virus 
but have since recovered. Their blood should contain antibodies that 
might help other patients fight off the infection.
The
 World Health Organization is making it a priority to try such 
convalescent blood or plasma, as it is called, and is talking with the 
affected countries about how to do it.
This week, the organization issued guidance on how to collect the blood and administer transfusions.
“The
 concept that this treatment could be efficacious is biologically 
plausible, as convalescent plasma has been used successfully for the 
treatment of a variety of infectious agents,” the W.H.O. guidance 
document says.

    		Plausibility,
 however, is not proof that such treatments would work for Ebola and 
some virologists doubt it will. The results of studies in monkeys were 
discouraging, they note.

There
 will also be logistical problems carrying this out in West Africa, 
where blood banks are not well developed. One challenge will be to make 
sure that the donated blood, even if it helps patients recover from 
Ebola, does not give them H.I.V. or hepatitis.“Major
 questions need to be answered about the safety and efficacy of 
convalescent therapies, and the feasibility of implementation in 
countries with shattered health systems and an acute shortage of medical
 staff,” the W.H.O. said in a separate statement released a week ago.
Still,
 with the epidemic spiraling out of control, there is a sense that some 
treatment needs to be offered, even if only to give sick people hope and
 a reason to go to medical centers, where they can be stopped from 
spreading the disease to others. And there are really no other good 
options.
“The
 attraction is, at least on the surface, it is something that could be 
implemented readily,” said Dr. Daniel Bausch, an expert on Ebola at 
Tulane University and an adviser to the health organization.    
The
 Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust are among 
the organizations championing convalescent plasma and working on how to 
put it into effect.
“Blood
 is donated in West Africa every day of the week for surgery and other 
things and could be safely tested for viruses,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, 
director of the Wellcome Trust.
Such
 therapies have already been used in the current outbreak. Dr. Kent 
Brantly, an American aid worker who contracted Ebola in Liberia, 
received a blood transfusion from a boy who had recovered. After Dr. 
Brantly survived his bout with the disease, some of his plasma was given
 to another American aid worker, Dr. Rick Sacra, who also recovered.
But
 it is not known whether the transfusions helped in those cases, since 
both men also received experimental drugs and excellent supportive care 
in American hospitals.
Authorities
 say this approach has been used in Africa, but to a limited extent. 
There have even been rumors of a black market for the blood of 
survivors. Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., said 
in a news conference last month that her organization would work to 
stamp out underground use of blood because such a therapy must be 
administered properly and safely.
The
 use of blood or plasma — either from recovered patients or from animals
 deliberately exposed to a pathogen — dates from the late 1800s, and for
 decades was a mainstay of treatment for infectious diseases. Emil von Behring,
 a German physician scientist, won the first Nobel Prize in Physiology 
or Medicine in 1901 for pioneering the serum approach for diphtheria.
Convalescent therapies were used, apparently  with some success,
 in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. And such treatments are still used
 for rabies, snake bites, hepatitis A and B, and other diseases. But for
 some viral diseases, like hepatitis C and the human immunodeficiency 
virus, it has not been shown to work.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/health/use-of-ebola-survivors-blood-as-possible-treatment-gains-support.html?_r=0 

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jacksdad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251	Post Options Post Reply Quote jacksdad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Survivors blood to treat Ebola Posted: October 04 2014 at 5:58pm
	Health A Plan to Use Survivors’ Blood for Ebola Treatment in Africa By ANDREW POLLACK OCT. 3, 2014 Photo Health officials hope to recruit survivors, like Julius Prout of Liberia, to give blood to help others. Credit Jerome Delay/Associated Press With no proven drugs to treat Ebola and experimental ones in short supply, the health authorities are planning to turn instead to a treatment that is walking around in the outbreak zone in West Africa. That would be the blood of people who have been sickened by the Ebola virus but have since recovered. Their blood should contain antibodies that might help other patients fight off the infection. The World Health Organization is making it a priority to try such convalescent blood or plasma, as it is called, and is talking with the affected countries about how to do it. This week, the organization issued guidance on how to collect the blood and administer transfusions. “The concept that this treatment could be efficacious is biologically plausible, as convalescent plasma has been used successfully for the treatment of a variety of infectious agents,” the W.H.O. guidance document says. Plausibility, however, is not proof that such treatments would work for Ebola and some virologists doubt it will. The results of studies in monkeys were discouraging, they note. There will also be logistical problems carrying this out in West Africa, where blood banks are not well developed. One challenge will be to make sure that the donated blood, even if it helps patients recover from Ebola, does not give them H.I.V. or hepatitis. “Major questions need to be answered about the safety and efficacy of convalescent therapies, and the feasibility of implementation in countries with shattered health systems and an acute shortage of medical staff,” the W.H.O. said in a separate statement released a week ago. Still, with the epidemic spiraling out of control, there is a sense that some treatment needs to be offered, even if only to give sick people hope and a reason to go to medical centers, where they can be stopped from spreading the disease to others. And there are really no other good options. “The attraction is, at least on the surface, it is something that could be implemented readily,” said Dr. Daniel Bausch, an expert on Ebola at Tulane University and an adviser to the health organization. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust are among the organizations championing convalescent plasma and working on how to put it into effect. “Blood is donated in West Africa every day of the week for surgery and other things and could be safely tested for viruses,” said Dr. Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust. Such therapies have already been used in the current outbreak. Dr. Kent Brantly, an American aid worker who contracted Ebola in Liberia, received a blood transfusion from a boy who had recovered. After Dr. Brantly survived his bout with the disease, some of his plasma was given to another American aid worker, Dr. Rick Sacra, who also recovered. But it is not known whether the transfusions helped in those cases, since both men also received experimental drugs and excellent supportive care in American hospitals. Authorities say this approach has been used in Africa, but to a limited extent. There have even been rumors of a black market for the blood of survivors. Dr. Margaret Chan, the director general of the W.H.O., said in a news conference last month that her organization would work to stamp out underground use of blood because such a therapy must be administered properly and safely. The use of blood or plasma — either from recovered patients or from animals deliberately exposed to a pathogen — dates from the late 1800s, and for decades was a mainstay of treatment for infectious diseases. Emil von Behring, a German physician scientist, won the first Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1901 for pioneering the serum approach for diphtheria. Convalescent therapies were used, apparently with some success, in the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. And such treatments are still used for rabies, snake bites, hepatitis A and B, and other diseases. But for some viral diseases, like hepatitis C and the human immunodeficiency virus, it has not been shown to work. http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/04/health/use-of-ebola-survivors-blood-as-possible-treatment-gains-support.html?_r=0 Host cell Ebola virus Antibodies Ebola
	"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.

Albert Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Joined: April 24 2006 Status: Offline Points: 47746	Post Options Post Reply Quote Albert Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 04 2014 at 6:01pm
	That could be Rishat
	https://www.facebook.com/Avianflutalk

jacksdad Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Executive Admin Joined: September 08 2007 Location: San Diego Status: Offline Points: 47251	Post Options Post Reply Quote jacksdad Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October 04 2014 at 6:02pm
	I'm feeling my patent being infringed on here...
	"Buy it cheap. Stack it deep" "Any community that fails to prepare, with the expectation that the federal government will come to the rescue, will be tragically wrong." Michael Leavitt, HHS Secretary.