Nigerian Researchers Enter Race to Find Ebola Cure as 21 are Quarantined in Enugu

Minister of Information, Labaran Maku

• Health C’ttee approves use of trial drug, Canada donates 1,000 doses to WHO

The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has disclosed that Nigerian medical experts and researchers are working in conjunction with their colleagues in the US to produce a vaccine for the Ebola virus.

The minister, who made the statement while briefing State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting, also revealed that the 198 persons who made secondary contact with the 10 primary contacts that were infected with Ebola by the index case had been traced and are currently under surveillance. Of the total, 21, who have been quarantined, are in Enugu.

This is just as the National Health Research Ethics Committee, Nigeria, has approved the use of an experimental Ebola drug ZMapp for the treatment of patients infected with the virus.

The Canadian Government also said Tuesday that it would donate 800 to 1,000 doses of the experimental drug to the World Health Organisation (WHO) for use in Africa.
During the briefing, Maku said of those who had primary contact with the index case, Patrick Sawyer, the Liberian citizen who imported the Ebola virus from his home country last month, had been quarantined, while secondary contacts had been traced and were under surveillance.

According to Maku, the number of people that had so far been traced is 198, out of which 177 are in Lagos and were under surveillance, while 21 persons in Enugu were also being monitored by health specialists.
“This is because one of the nurses that was involved with the treatment of the index case unfortunately, disobeyed medical instructions and somehow travelled to Enugu.

“All those who she was in contact with, including her husband, are under quarantine. The medical team has been able to trace all those who made contact with her,” he said.
The minister further disclosed that health workers had been deployed to all the nation’s border units.

“At all the entry points into this country and exit points, we have port health workers that are working in our airports and seaports.

“We are calling on citizens specifically to cooperate. If health workers say you have had contact with A, B, C, don’t travel; respect that judgment. It is very important.
“In one or two cases where we have had disobedience, we lost one of them and this one now moved with it to another place (Enugu).

“So we are urging Nigerians, please to help us in making sure that all these messages and appeals we are making are implemented.

“In terms of possible treatment, the Ministry of Health has set up a special committee specifically to take claims from Nigerians who believe they could help and so far we have had a lot of reports from Nigerians at home and abroad who have come forward to say look they have a chance of developing therapies that could help in fighting the virus.
“There is no cure so far anywhere in the world. Even the trial drug in the US is still a trial drug, it’s not been established.

“One of the doctors and research experts that came forward was Dr. Simon Agwale who has been one of the frontline global researchers on developing vaccines for HIV and other viral diseases.

“He came forward and said he could help, both in terms of working out to develop a vaccine, which he said he has started work on between himself and his fellow experts in the US. He said this is ongoing.

“The Minister of Health has given him support and directed him to the committee. He also discussed the possibility of using a certain therapy that they are now using which could be applied. And that is being discussed and once it is approved, it could be used,” Maku stated.

Nigeria Approves Use of Trial Drug

Meanwhile, the National Health Research Ethics Committee in Nigeria has approved the use of ZMapp for the treatment of patients infected with the virus.

The committee, which is made up of research scientists, is a national body under the Federal Ministry of Health.

The approval was contained in a statement issued by Prof. Clement Adebamowo, chairman of the committee yesterday in Abuja, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has reported.

The decision by the committee is coming on the heels of Tuesday’s approval by WHO on the use of ZMapp for treatment of Ebola patients.

“It is ethical to use these treatments in the current situation without first submitting an application to national, state or institutional health research ethics committee for prior review and approval.

“In addition, the committee waives the current requirement that international shipment of any biological samples out of Nigeria should be preceded by the establishment of a Materials Transfer Agreement.

“This waiver is to promote rapid international response to this global emergency,” the statement said.

In the statement, the Nigerian National Code for Health Research Ethics emphasised that all innovative and non-validated treatments should be carefully and adequately documented.

According to the statement, the documentation could form the basis for clinical trials of the efficacy and side effects of the treatment, according to established scientific principles.
The ethics committee enjoined all agencies, development partners and research scientists to follow the guidelines for the rapid resolution of the current emergency, the statement said.

“The guidelines will contribute to preparedness in case of future occurrences and contribution to scientific knowledge.

“It must be noted that all Phase 0 and Phase 1 Clinical Trials that may subsequently be designed for treatment of this infection can be approved only by the National Health Research Ethics Committee,” it said.

Canada to Donate Vaccine

In a related development, Canada has said it will donate a small quantity of an experimental Ebola vaccine developed in its government lab to the WHO for use in Africa, the country's health minister said on Tuesday.

The decision to donate the vaccine came after WHO said that it was ethical to offer untested drugs to people infected by the virus.

The Canadian government will donate between 800 and 1,000 doses of the vaccine, with the final number given dependent on how much Canada holds back for research and clinical trials. The government will also keep a small supply in case it is needed domestically.

Health Minister Rona Ambrose said she offered the vaccine to Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO.

The US is also working on a vaccine and the WHO and governments involved were discussing possible use in Africa, Dr. Greg Taylor, Deputy Chief Public Health Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada told Reuters in an interview ahead of the Canadian announcement.

Canada only has about 1,500 animal doses of the vaccine, which it invented a few years ago, and would need four to six months to make a large quantity, he said. The government’s vaccine is separate from the treatment being developed by Canada's Tekmira Pharmaceuticals Corp.

“We see this as a global resource, something we need to put on the global table to say ... how can we make best use of this asset? We're looking to do that as fast as we can,” Taylor said, speaking from Ottawa.

The Ebola outbreak is the world’s largest and deadliest. So far, 1,013 people have died, the vast majority in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

The Canadian vaccine, which the agency licensed for commercialisation to US firm BioProtection Systems, a unit of Newlink Genetics, has proven effective in animals but has never been tested in humans, Taylor said.

Last week, Iowa-based NewLink said that BioProtection had a contract with the US Department of Defence for studies to bring the Canadian Ebola vaccine closer to human testing.

“We’ve been trying to figure out how we can make a contribution in the fight against this disease and get our vaccine into the clinic,” Brian Wiley, NewLink Vice-President of Business Development, told Reuters. “A large amount of work still needs to be done, but when there is a dire need the powers that be move at a quicker pace.”

Canada’s Taylor did not specify which of several US vaccines in development he was referring to that may be used in Africa along with the Canadian vaccine.

Profectus BioSciences of Tarrytown, New York, has tested its Ebola vaccine in monkeys with good results, its chief science officer John Eldridge said on Tuesday.
Still, deciding whether to use an experimental drug on humans is “very difficult,” Taylor said.

“You really don't know how safe it is, you don’t know what the side effects are going to be. But in this extraordinary circumstance in Africa right now, we’re trying to do everything we can to assist.”

The first doses in Africa would likely be available to health care workers, Taylor said.
The Public Health Agency of Canada was also involved in the development of ZMapp, an experimental Ebola treatment licensed by US firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical that has been used to treat two infected American aid workers. Liberia said on Tuesday it would get Mapp’s drug to treat two doctors.