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- Virus on the downside: scientists have found a way to protect doctors from death after contact with Ebola
Virus on the downside: scientists have found a way to protect doctors from death after contact with Ebola
Calculations by scientists conducted using a mathematical model have shown that the use of antiviral drugs as a means of preventing Ebola among doctors working in the epidemic zone will reduce the number of deaths among them by two thirds. During the current outbreak of the disease in Africa, 17 medical workers have already died, and another 75 have become infected. Existing antiviral drugs have not yet been approved for the prevention or treatment of Ebola and need further clinical trials. The Gamaleya Center suggests using a domestic vaccine for protection. According to experts, the risk of infection and death of medical personnel in the foci of infection remains extremely high, therefore it is necessary to consider all potential means of protection, even if their effectiveness and safety for such use still require confirmation.
Post-exposure Ebola prevention
An international group of scientists with the participation of specialists from the United States, Great Britain and the Democratic Republic of the Congo used mathematical modeling to evaluate the effectiveness of using antiviral drugs as a means of protecting medical personnel from Ebola. The researchers calculated the effects of using drugs such as Obeldesevir for post-exposure prophylaxis of infection. According to them, with timely and massive medication intake, almost two thirds of deaths among doctors can be prevented.
"With 80 percent of the drug's effectiveness and 80 percent staff coverage, post-exposure prophylaxis prevented approximately 64% of deaths of medical workers. In conditions of low availability, when coverage reached only 50% per year, the reduction in mortality fell to 19 and 22%, depending on the characteristics of the outbreak," the scientists described the results of their study in the article.
The main difficulty of using antiviral drugs is that their effects on the human body are not fully understood. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO recommended using such drugs with caution. Currently, none of the medications are officially approved for the treatment or prevention of Ebola. Due to the limited amount of clinical data, optimal schemes for their use have not yet been determined. In addition, estimates of the effectiveness of drugs against the strain that caused the current outbreak in Africa are based primarily on studies involving primates rather than humans, the researchers emphasized.
On June 23, WHO recognized the ongoing Ebola outbreak in Africa as the largest in terms of spread. There is no specific treatment yet for the Bundibugio virus strain that caused it. Vaccines against the current variant of the pathogen have already been developed in Russia and several other countries. However, they have not yet passed all the necessary tests. According to the latest data, 1.4 thousand cases of infection have been confirmed in DR Congo, 438 people have died. Doctors working in the region are particularly at risk: 17 of them died, 75 are infected. The first imported case of Ebola infection in France on June 24 was also detected in a medical worker who returned from the DRC. Russian doctors sent by Rospotrebnadzor are also working in the area of the outbreak.
Russian vaccine to protect doctors
The vaccine available in Russia against the Ebola Zaire strain protects against death from Bundibugio in more than half of cases, so it should be used to protect medical personnel, Alexander Ginzburg, scientific director of the Gamalei Center, told Izvestia.
— The Zaire strain, against which the vaccine was made, is 60-70% similar to Bundibugio. Therefore, it is high time for all doctors who work in the outbreak area to be vaccinated with our drug. I assume 50% protection from infection, and much more from deaths. People are forced to work in anti-plague suits in 30-degree heat, while personal protective equipment is often not enough. In such circumstances, additional protection could play an important role. There is no specific vaccine yet," he said.
According to Andrey Prodeus, the chief freelance pediatric allergist and immunologist at the Ministry of Health of the Moscow Region, both methods should be used, since doctors are at very high risk.
— In the focus of a particularly dangerous infection that can lead to death, any options during the epidemic may make sense. I'm more in favor of using antiviral drugs by doctors. In addition, such practice will help to understand whether these drugs should be used for prevention or treatment of other population groups. As for our Zaire vaccine, cross-immunity does exist. The only question is what percentage will be protected from Bundibugio," the specialist said.
The authors of the article do not name specific antiviral drugs, but rather talk about a group of drugs, so the results can be questioned, said immunologist Mikhail Bolkov. At the same time, the effectiveness of medications has been shown in monkeys, not in humans. And it can vary.
— In addition, the Ebola epidemic is spreading in the war-torn territory, so it will not be possible to deliver medicines in practice to all those in need. Although in the absence of other means, it makes sense to use medicines that have not been fully tested," he said.
In his opinion, it is better to focus on the development of monoclonal antibodies (immunoglobulins (proteins) or fragments thereof) against Bundibugio, as they have shown the highest effectiveness.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
