British Ebola patient cured by Chinese-made drug released from hospital
A British Ebola patient who was successfully treated with an experimental drug MIL 77 developed by Chinese scientists has been released from hospital on Friday, local media reported.
Anna Cross, a 25-year-old British army nurse, is the first Ebola patient to have received treatment with the Chinese-made drug MIL77.
It’s uncertain how much credit the drug should take in the recovery, as more research needs to be done to confirm its effects, said an expert from Royal Free Hospital, where Cross was treated.
A paper published in the Chinese Journal of International Pharmaceutical Research said MIL77 has similar antibody combination with Zmapp, which took the spotlight in Ebola treatment. Zmapp is developed by San Diego-based Mapp Pharmaceuticals Inc..
MIL77 has completed the preclinical studies for emergency use, the paper said.
A couple of Ebola patients had recovered after taking ZMapp, but the exact effects still couldn’t be confirmed, the paper said. The United States started large-scale clinical trials for ZMapp in February.
The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa has killed more than 10,000 people, out of the some 25,000 infected since 2014, according to World Health Organization’s latest report on Monday. – Xinhua.net