The Ebola outbreak that started in February in West Africa took the lives of 600 people. To this day there is no known cure for the disease. Only investigational drugs are available to the scientific community. Those drugs have been tested on animals and have brought positive results, however, they cannot be used to treat humans, as they are not licensed. Professor Peter D. Walsh from the University of Cambridge believes no drugs have been licensed so far because the pharmaceutical companies are not interested as there is no profit in the Ebola vaccine.
Why only now the outbreak is getting so much media attention?
Professor Peter D. Walsh: There have been outbreaks of Ebola virus in Africa for the last 30 years. They typically kill a few tens of people and then burn out. What differentiates this from the previous outbreaks is the extent to which it’s gotten into major cities. It hasn’t just stayed contained in the villages in which it emerges from animals; it has spread now into four countries and there is no sign that it is actually slowing down.
The reason it is so difficult to contain is because it’s got into the cities. The public health infrastructure in these countries is very poor and they just don’t have the personnel and systems to contain it.
Other than just asking people to stop travelling, is there any other way of containing it?
Professor Peter D. Walsh: Historically, the best way is what is called barrier nursing. Ebola is probably the second most deadly virus in the world after rabies. At this point there are no licensed vaccines or treatments for Ebola and there are quite a few unlicensed ones.
Developed countries have good containment capacities. They can put somebody in a hospital, give care and isolate. It is very unlikely we are going to have a big outbreak in the developed countries.
Nonetheless, the European Commission said it will allocate additional 2 million Euros on top of almost 2 million Euros to help contain the spread. That’s a lot of money.
Professor Peter D. Walsh: They always feel pressured to do some response. Respiratory viruses are a much more serious threat in terms of having a big outbreak in a developed country. We have investigational drugs, they are not licensed but they work on monkeys. They haven't been licensed because there is no commercial market, because it is not a threat in the developed world.
We have two western doctors infected and if there is no licensed cure, their fate is pretty obvious. Why can’t those drugs be used on them to see how they work on humans?
Professor Peter D. Walsh: Some people are advocating this and they could be. But right now, you have to get an approval from the host governments in Africa to use the drugs. And that is what is blocking it. And you have to get somebody who has one of these therapies of vaccines to allow you to use it. The companies that are producing these things are extremely worried if you give that drug to these two people and both of them still die, then fingers are going to be pointed at them and they are going to be blamed.
What needs to happen is that governments of developed countries need to provide a legal cover and help implement these things. They need to say – let’s do it.
I think that now it is a very good time for the scientific community to push this initiative to license the available vaccines. There are so many international organizations, like Doctors Without Borders. What are these people doing? Are they being instrumental?
Professor Peter D. Walsh: There is an effort being under way right now. But there are scientific issues about what’s the right way to do it and there is also a bunch of technical issues about producing enough vaccines, because they are not commercial products yet, and then there are political issues about who is going let you vaccinate in their countries or where you should do the vaccines. What is really needed right now is a champion to say – okay, I'm going to take the responsibility for this. Right now the best hope seems to be the Wellcome Trust.
