Physical Wellness

Liberian Ebola Survivor Roots for Zmapp

By Peter R | Update Date: Sep 01, 2014 04:25 PM EDT

Amidst the pall of gloom that haunts Liberia, the worst-hit West African nation by the Ebola crisis, spontaneous celebrations erupted in capital of Monrovia last weekend when word spread of the cure of a Liberian healthcare worker who was infected with Ebola.

The survivor Kyndy Kobbah , a physician's assistant, received the experimental drug ZMapp which was also given to two Americans who survived the disease. A Spanish priest however succumbed to the virus last month. The Huffington Post quoted Kobbah saying there was need for more Zmapp.

"They need to make more Zmapp and send to us," she said. The Post's report said the company has exhausted all its supplies and has asked for time to replenish its stock.  

According to CBC News, Kobbah contracted the disease while working at a government run hospital in Monrovia. Kobbah's family celebrated her cure as she survived the virus which has killed more than half the number of people it infected.

"The house is on fire with all the celebration going on," she told reporters about her family, a day before her release from hospital.

Experimental drug Zmapp works to neutralize the Ebola virus by binding to its protein. Sans human trials, healthcare experts are unable to say if the drug has indeed propelled cure for those who took it, given that 45 percent of the people infected, have cured without medication.

Pending human trials have however not deterred the scientific community from hailing the drug's capability. A new study published on Friday found that Zmapp cured 18 monkeys infected with Ebola, the Globe and Mail reported.

In a related development, clinical trials for a new vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline would begin this week. The trials would begin at NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda with 146 subjects but none of the patients would be infected with the virus, ABC News reports. 

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