The link below is a case study of a rare relapse of Ebola in a patient from Scotland, initially diagnosed in late 2014, who was released from isolation and treatment in early 2015. A sudden onset of symptoms in late 2015 pointed to relapse of the virus, previously thought to have been fully treated.This study was published about a year and a half ago. It claims it's an independent study with contributors worldwide; that it wasn't sponsored by the CDC, World Health Organization, or any other governmental entity. However, English doctors were funded through their nationalized healthcare program (Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust) for their part in the study.
My initial summary & thoughts after sifting through this thing:
Vaccination is unavailable because the entire viral sequence is still unknown. The specific CNS sites the virus replicated in causing relapse are also still unknown. The full range of symptoms & secondary diseases caused are also unknown. Various pharmaceutical companies & governments are claiming there is an effective vaccine now available, & it has already been administered to many. According to this study, an effective & safe vaccine on the market is still an impossibility. More viral sequencing research should be required before subjecting populations to a vaccine which is experimental, not evaulated for safety, & appears to immunize against a disease where the RNA sequence is unknown. Worldwide pandemic infection is still a concern, as Ebola is not fully contained. An Ebola outbreak is currently occuring in The Congo in large enough numbers to reach international media attention.
"...the pathogenesis of post-Ebola complications, in particular the presence and role of viral persistence, is unknown...."
"... to our knowledge, no previous reports exist of late severe relapses of Ebola virus with viral RNA redetected in blood."
"We do not know in which specific site or cells the virus persisted, or whether the virus continuously replicated there or reactivated to produce clinical relapse. Sequence comparison at the time of initial illness and subsequent relapse showed no changes in coding regions, excluding an immune escape variant of the virus causing clinical relapse. A potential precipitant for relapse, such as intercurrent illness or use of immunosuppressive drugs, was not identified, and therefore its cause and timing remain unexplained."
"Our patient is the first to be rechallenged with Ebola virus-specific monoclonal antibody therapy following previous treatment, and developed a life-threatening allergic reaction."
"We are unable to assess our patient's risk of further Ebola virus relapse or know whether this has been reduced or eliminated by antiviral treatment."
"Relapse of viral replication in the CNS alone would not pose a risk of onward community transmission, but our patient also had detectable Ebola virus RNA in blood."
"In view of the large number of Ebola survivors in west Africa, the potential for relapse, even if rare, to initiate new transmission chains is a serious public health concern. A small cluster of Ebola cases occurred in Liberia in November, 2015, after human to human transmission was thought to have ended, which WHO has reported was the result of re-emergence of Ebola virus that had persisted in a previously infected individual."
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