Research

MEDICAL NEWS TODAY                                   Dec. 11, 2014

The means by which Ebola virus transmits through direct contact with body fluids of infected individuals is well covered in scientific literature. But little is known about the life the virus has - if any - outside the body. For example, does Ebola remain active on glass surfaces and countertops? Does it persist in sewage and wastewater systems?

Such questions are rarely addressed in currently published literature, say engineers from the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) and Drexel University, Philadelphia.

A team of engineers says scientific literature contains little information about how well Ebola survives outside the body. They call for research to investigate its persistence in the environment so correct guidance can be given on disinfection and waste handling.

They report their findings - or lack of them - and why it is important to find some answers, in a paper published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology Letters....

REUTERS                                                                                                                    Dec. 9, 2014

CHICAGO -- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday offered liability protections to drugmakers rushing to develop Ebola vaccines and urged other countries to follow suit.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell made the announcement as part of the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act in a move aimed at encouraging the development and availability of experimental Ebola vaccines.

The declaration provides immunity under U.S. law against legal claims related to the manufacturing, testing, development, distribution, and administration of three vaccines for the Ebola virus. However, it does not provide immunity for a claim brought in a court outside the United States...

Read full story

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/12/09/us-health-ebola-vaccine-idUSKBN0JN1S920141209

Clinical Trials Are Being Launched in Africa but Face Challenges in Designing Ethical Studies, Compensating Donors

WALL STREET JOURNAL                                                                                                    Dec. 5, 2014
by Betsy McKay in Atlanta, David Gauthier-Villars in Conakry, Guinea, and Patrick McGroarty in Monrovia, Liberia

...Nearly a year after Ebola began spreading in West Africa, and with a proven drug or vaccine still far off, researchers are launching clinical trials on a product at hand: the blood of survivors.

 They want to determine whether so-called convalescent plasma or serum, chock full of antibodies, can help fight off the disease. But they face a number of complexities in carrying out the trials, including persuading survivors to participate....

THE NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE                                                                                 Dec. 3, 2014
By Edward Cox, M.D., M.P.H., Luciana Borio, M.D., and Robert Temple, M.D.

...Studying investigational therapies for EVD presents scientific, practical, and ethical challenges. Not surprisingly, there has been substantial debate about the best and most appropriate study approaches.2,3 It is generally agreed that a trial with a concurrent control group, in which patients are randomly assigned to receive the test drug plus the best available supportive care (BASC) or to BASC alone, would be the most efficient and reliable way to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of candidate products.

 Some people in the health care community, however, have argued against such trials, urging instead use of a historical control — that is, making investigational drugs as widely available as their supply allows and then comparing mortality rates among treated patients with rates that would have been expected absent the drugs, on the basis of past experience with EVD.