WHO strongly recommends two treatments for Ebola, a first
An agent disinfects equipment at the Cocody University Hospital after the passage of a first patient with Ebola, in the Ivorian city, on August 16, 2021. AFP - SIA KAMBOU
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The Ebola virus now has an official treatment.
For the first time, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended, on Friday August 19, two drugs to reduce mortality linked to hemorrhagic fever.
It is not a preventive treatment, these drugs must be taken by patients already affected by the disease.
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These two treatments are “
monoclonal
” antibodies : they were specifically created to fight a disease once the patient has been infected.
To fight
the Ebola virus
, the World Health Organization (WHO) "
strongly recommends
" two of these drugs.
The first is called mAb114 (marketed under the name Ebanga) and the second is called REGN-EB3 from the Regeneron Pharmaceuticals laboratory.
According to the WHO, these two treatments considerably reduce mortality linked to the Ebola virus disease: once the contamination has been confirmed in the laboratory, they must be taken as soon as possible.
This recommendation is also suitable for newborns born with the disease from their mother.
The Organization explains that these treatments have already been used since the end of 2020, since their approval by the American Medicines Agency (FDA): out of 1,000 patients treated with these drugs, they could save between 230 and 400 people from the disease.
WHO '
ready to help countries
' to make drugs '
more affordable
'
In any case, it is the first time that the United Nations has recommended a treatment for Ebola.
Since its discovery in 1976, the virus has killed more than 11,000 people, mainly on the African continent, notably during its largest outbreak, which raged between 2013 and 2016
in West Africa
.
“
WHO stands ready to help countries, manufacturers and partners to improve access to these treatments, and to support national and global efforts to make them more affordable
,” the organization said in a statement.
In its guidelines, the WHO recommends, on the other hand, not to administer the ZMapp treatment (based on monoclonal antibodies) and the antiviral remdesivir.
In addition to treatments, vaccines have been developed in recent years and are used to interrupt the chains of transmission.
► Also to listen:
How African researchers took up the challenge of Ebola?
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