First patients enrolled in record-breaking Ebola treatment trial in DRC

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The Democratic Republic of the Congo has enrolled the first patients in a record-breaking Ebola treatment trial just six weeks after the outbreak was declared a public health emergency. Two drugs are being tested in the Ituri region with hopes of reducing mortality rates.

Two drugs are being trialled in the Ituri region in a programme set up just six weeks after the outbreak was declared, with hopes it will reduce mortality rates There is no approved drug to help the medical teams scrabbling to save lives in the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo – but there are hopes that could change within months as the first patients are enrolled in a treatment trial. It is a record pace to set up and start this kind of research, scientists said, with patients enrolled just six weeks after the outbreak being declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organization (WHO) on 17 May. Continue reading...