The United States sent Gilead Sciences' (GILD.O) remdesivir and Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc's experimental Ebola antibody drug MBP134 to Uganda last week to help safeguard healthcare workers responding to an outbreak that has infected 60 people and killed 44, U.S. government sources says, Trend reports citing Reuters.
There are currently no proven vaccines or treatments for the Sudan species of Ebola, one of four known Ebola viruses to cause hemorrhagic fever in humans. The outbreak confirmed by the Ugandan health ministry on Sept. 20 is the largest of the Sudan species since 2000.
Uganda health minister Jane Ruth Aceng disclosed the U.S. shipments at a meeting of African region health officials last week in Kampala and said remdesivir, which has been widely used as a COVID-19 treatment, and an undisclosed monoclonal antibody had been given to healthcare workers.
Providing treatment that protects the lives of healthcare workers could be central to containing the outbreak, said Joel Montgomery, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s chief of the viral special pathogens branch and incident manager for the outbreak.
"If healthcare workers start to fall ill and die, it's going to negatively impact the response," said Montgomery, who had just returned from a trip to Uganda.
For instance, healthcare workers may be reluctant to assist in the response, he said in a phone interview.