HOPE FOR EBOLA AS NIGERIA APPLIES FOR JAPANESE DRUG

There is rising hope on the management of the Ebola Virus Disease(EVD) as the minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu yesterday announced that the country has applied for the Japanese drug which has proven efficient in treating viral infections.
The minister who spoke at the opening of the 2nd Emergency National Council on Health meeting held in Abuja explained that beside the Japanese drug, Nigeria equally applied for the TKM-Ebola drug alongside two other vaccines which has been identified by the Treatment Research Group.
He said the Treatment Research Group (TRG) has been working hard to identify experimental drugs like Zmapp, and also make recommendations to government on further research on these drugs as well as vaccines for EVD treatment and control.
He said: “Following the TRG’s recommendation and in consultation with NAFDAC and  NHREC, Nigeria has indicated interest to participate in the clinical trials for two candidate EVD vaccines and we are considering a third that may be added to the list. We have also applied for experimental drugs such as TKM-Ebola.

“The TRG has submitted a detailed profile and brief on the oral antiviral agent which the Japanese Government has offered to make available to affected countries through the WHO. We are now considering the profile and brief to enable us reach a final decision on making it available to our patients.
“Our initial knowledge of the agent is that it has  been shown to have strong antiviral activity against the influenza virus following phases I and II human trails, it is now going through phase III clinical trails; it is shown to have strong antiviral property against Ebola virus in vitro and in vivo. These and the fact that it is considered safe, having passed through phase I and II clinical trails makes it good candidate drug for use in emergency situation as the EVD.”
Giving insight to the correct data on the EVD outbreak Chukwu stated that the total number of cases of EBD in Nigeria stands at sixteen. The total number of cases treated at the isolation ward in Lagos state stands at thirteen, while the total number of those discharged is seven.
‎For the number of deaths recorded the minister said it still stood at six just as the two patients undergoing treatment in Lagos are stable. ‎The list of people under surveillance in Lagos have also reduced drastically from 141 to 72 while the number stands at 199 in Port Harcourt.
A further breakdown of data from the minister showed that 278 contacts in Lagos state had completed the 21 days surveillance and have been released from surveillance. Six people under surveillance in Enugu have been discharged after completing the 21 day observation period.