Ebola | Infos, News und Hintergründe

[Birgitt]

Informationen zum Ebola-Fieber HIER

[Birgitt]

Das offenbar neue Virus hat andere Symptome zur Folge. Bisher wurden in Uganda 51 Ebola-Fälle registriert, 16 davon verliefen tödlich. Ausgelöst wurde die Ebola-Seuche im Westen Ugandas offenbar von einem unbekannten Subtypus des Virus. Das hätten Labortests in Uganda und den USA ergeben, erklärte die Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) am Freitag. Bei dem Erreger handle es sich vermutlich nicht um einen der vier bekannten Subtypen. Er habe andere Symptome zur Folge, darunter offenbar Erbrechen, sagte WHO-Sprecher Gregory Hartl in Genf ...

Neuer Subtypus des Ebola-Virus entdeckt
02.12.2007 - Kurier

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

Die Entfernung eines einzelnen Gens verwandelt den Erreger eines tödlichen hämorrhagischen Fiebers in ein harmloses Laborvirus, das sich nur noch in speziellen Zelllinien vermehrt. US-Forscher beschreiben in den Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2008; 105: 1129-1133) eine Variante des Ebola-Virus, mit dem sie auch außerhalb von Hochsicherheitslaboratorien experimentieren möchten ...

Genetiker entwaffnen Ebola-Viren
22.01.2008 - Deutsches Ärzteblatt

Generation of biologically contained Ebola viruses
29.01.2008 - PNAS

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have identified a protein, ISG15, that inhibits the Ebola virus from budding, the process by which viruses escape from cells and spread to infect neighboring cells. This study shows for the first time how ISG15 slows the spread of Ebola virus budding, an observation that could help explain how ISG15 successfully inhibits other viruses, including HIV-1 and herpes simplex virus type I. The findings offer the promise of future treatments for Ebola outbreaks that now prove fatal for as many as 90 percent of victims ...

Protein Inhibits Ebola From Reaching Out To Infect Neighboring Cells
04.03.2008 - Science Daily

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER - UGANDA (06): (BUNDIBUGYO), NEW SPECIES
****************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Thu 20 Nov 2008
Source: Science Daily [edited]
<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 202502.htm>


New species of Ebola virus discovered
-------------------------------------
Scientists report the discovery of a new species of Ebola virus,
provisionally named Bundibugyo ebolavirus, 21 Nov [2008] in the
open-access journal PLoS Pathogens. The virus, which was responsible
for a hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda in 2007, has been
characterized by a team of researchers from the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, the Uganda Virus Research
Institute; the Uganda Ministry of Health; and Columbia University.

Ebola virus infection in humans causes severe disease for which there
is presently no vaccine or other treatment. Case fatalities range
historically between 53 and 90 percent. Therefore, research efforts
into the Ebola virus genus and potential diagnostics are ongoing,
with the discovery of Bundibugyo ebolavirus representing one of the
latest pieces added to this puzzle.

The new virus is genetically distinct from all other known Ebola
virus species, differing by more than 30 percent at the genetic
level. More traditional ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent
assay)-based assays detected the new virus; however, the unique
nature of this virus created initial challenges for traditional Ebola
virus molecular diagnostic assays and genome sequencing approaches.

To determine the genetic signature of this new Ebola virus species,
scientists used a recently developed random-primed pyrosequencing
approach, quickly determining the genetic sequence of over 70 percent
of the virus genome.

Knowledge of this sequence then allowed for the rapid development of
a sensitive molecular detection assay, which was deployed to the
field as part of the outbreak response. This draft sequence also
allowed for easy completion of the whole genome sequence using a
traditional primer walking approach and prompt confirmation that this
virus represented a new Ebola virus species. Current worldwide
efforts to design effective diagnostics, antivirals, and vaccines
will need to take into account the distinct nature of this new member
of the Ebola virus genus.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[The following is the Abstract and Authors' Summary of the paper
entitled "Newly Discovered Ebola Virus Associated with Hemorrhagic
Fever Outbreak in Uganda" by JS Towner and 17 others published in
PLoS Pathogens, 2008; 4(11): e1000212 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1000212/.
<http://www.plospathogens.org/article/in ... at.1000212>

Abstract
--------
"Over the past 30 years, Zaire and Sudan ebolaviruses have been
responsible for large hemorrhagic fever (HF) outbreaks with case
fatalities ranging from 53 percent to 90 percent, while a 3rd
species, Cote d'Ivoire ebolavirus, caused a single non-fatal HF case.
In November 2007, HF cases were reported in Bundibugyo District,
Western Uganda. Laboratory investigation of the initial 29
suspect-case blood specimens by classic methods (antigen capture, IgM
and IgG ELISA) and a recently developed random-primed pyrosequencing
approach quickly identified this to be an Ebola HF outbreak
associated with a newly discovered ebolavirus species (Bundibugyo
ebolavirus) distantly related to the Cote d'Ivoire ebolavirus found
in western Africa. Due to the sequence divergence of this new virus
relative to all previously recognized ebolaviruses, these findings
have important implications for design of future diagnostic assays to
monitor Ebola HF disease in humans and animals, and ongoing efforts
to develop effective antivirals and vaccines."

Authors' summary
----------------
"In this report we describe a newly discovered ebolavirus species
which caused a large hemorrhagic fever outbreak in western Uganda.
The virus is genetically distinct, differing by more than 30 percent
at the genome level from all other known ebolavirus species. The
unique nature of this virus created challenges for traditional
filovirus molecular based diagnostic assays and genome sequencing
approaches. Instead, we quickly determined over 70 percent of the
virus genome using a recently developed random-primed pyrosequencing
approach that allowed the rapid development of a molecular detection
assay that was deployed in the disease outbreak response. This draft
sequence allowed easy completion of the whole genome sequence using a
traditional primer walking approach and prompt confirmation that this
virus represented a new ebolavirus species. Current efforts to design
effective diagnostics, antivirals and vaccines will need to take into
account the distinct nature of this important new member of the
filovirus family."

According to the 8th Report of the International Committee on Virus
Taxonomy (ICTV), virus species in the genus _Ebolavirus_ of the
family _Filoviridae_ may be distinguished on the basis of
glycoprotein gene sequence difference (more than 30 percent amino
acid difference), cross protection data (where available) and
differences in geographic origins.

The HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Uganda is available at
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?g=443329&v=0.833,30.25,6>
and a detailed map of the Bundibugyo region of Western Uganda can be
accessed at
<http://www.maplandia.com/uganda/bundibugyo/>. - Mod.CP]

[Birgitt]

In Uganda ist eine neue Variante des gefährlichen Ebola-Virus aufgetaucht. Mit der Art hatten sich bereits Ende 2007 mehr als 100 Menschen angesteckt. 37 der Infizierten waren gestorben. Das berichtet ein internationales Forscherteam um Stuart Nichol von der US-Seuchenkontrollbehörde CDC im Fachmagazin „PLoS Pathogens“. Die neue Art mit dem Namen Bundibugyo kann mit herkömmlichen Diagnosemethoden nachgewiesen werden, schreiben die Wissenschaftler ...

Neue Ebola-Variante entdeckt
21.11.2008 - Focus

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

EBOLA VIRUS, NEEDLE STICK INJURY - GERMANY: (HAMBURG)
*****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

[1]
Date: Tue 17 Mar 2009
Source: N24 online [machine translated, paraphrased and edited]
<http://www.n24.de/news/newsitem_4910557.html>


Woman with suspected Ebola infection
------------------------------------
An member of the Hamburg Tropical Institute has received a needle
stick injury and possibly has been infected with a dangerous
pathogen. The woman is being treated in Hamburg Universiy Hospital on
suspicion of Ebola virus infection. The victim worked in the Bernhard
Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, where last Thursday [12 Mar
2009] while working in the high security wing received a needle stick
injury despite wearing protective clothing. The woman has been
transferred to an isolation unit for treatment of the potentially
highly contagious disease. So far the patient has shown no signs of
illness. Risk of transmission of infection has been discounted.

In consultation with an international team of experts and the patient
herself [an experimental] vaccine was administered which has not been
used previously humans. Ebola virus is transmitted by direct contact
with body fluids. The disease progresses to internal bleeding, and
onset of death is rapid. There is no cure; 50 to 90 percent of those
infected die. In the case of the type of Ebola virus responsible for
the Hamburg incident, mortality can be as high as 90 percent. In the
most recent major outbreaks in the Congo and in Uganda, hundreds of
people died.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

******
[2]
Date: Tue 17 Mar 2009
Source: abenblatt.de [machine translated, paraphrased and edited]
<http://www.abendblatt.de/daten/2009/03/17/1088430.html>


A member of the Bernhard-Nocht-Instituts fur Tropenmedizin has
received a needle stick injury from a syringe suspected to contan
Ebola virus. The woman did not leave the University hospital and was
immediately transferred to an isolation unit. In consultation with an
international team of experts and the patient herself, an
[experimental] vaccine, not previously tested in humans, was administered.

The scientist employed at the Hamburg Bernhard-Nocht-Institute for
Tropical Medicine is suspected to have been infected with the highly
dangerous Ebola virus. Last Thursday [12 Mar 2009] the woman was
working in the high security laboratory and received a needle stick
injury despite wearing protective clothing, and possibly she became
infected with Ebola virus. The victim was immediately isolated. Since
the scientist showed no symptoms of Ebola fever, it is considered
that there is no risk of onward transmission of disease.

Since Ebola virus is one of the most dangerous pathogens and in
almost 90 percent of cases leads to death, it was decided on Sat 14
Mar 2009 in consultation with a panel of experts from the U.S. and
Canada to administer a vaccine, which has never been tested a human
previuosly. Approximately 24 hours later the woman developed fever,
probably as a response to vaccination according to one doctor. In
Germany there has been no previous laboratory accident of this kind
according to Egbert Tannich of the (Bernhard-Nocht-Institute). A cure
does not exist. The mortality rate for the strain of Ebola virus
implicated in the Hamburg incident is 90 percent. In the most recent
major outbreaks, especially in the Congo and in Uganda, hundreds of
people died.

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

******
[3]
Date: Tue 17 Mar 2009
Source: Blomberg.com [edited]
<http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... er=germany>


Ebola researcher in Germany is isolated after needle puncture
-------------------------------------------------------------
A researcher at a Hamburg laboratory was punctured with a needle that
may have contained traces of the deadly Ebola virus and was
transferred to an isolation ward following inoculation treatment, the
clinic said in a statement. The university clinic in Hamburg-
Eppendorf, which is treating the woman, ruled out any danger to the
public, according to the e-mailed statement. Ebola is an animal-borne
virus that causes high fever, diarrhea, vomiting and internal bleeding.

The woman, a scientist at the Bernhard-Nocht-Institut for tropical
medicine, was punctured through protective clothing while in a high
security laboratory on 12 Mar 2009. Though she showed no signs of
infection, a group of experts recommended an inoculation treatment
developed in the U.S., the clinic said.

The virus strain with which the unidentified woman had been working
has a mortality rate of around 90 percent. She was put into isolation
after developing a fever 24 hours later, and doctors were examining
whether the high temperature resulted from the treatment or from an
Ebola infection.

The World Health Organization said on 18 Feb 2009 that an Ebola
outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo had killed 15 people.


--
Communicated by:
Axel Pettinger
<Axel.Pettinger@t-online.de>

[It is possible that no infectious virus was transferred as a result
of the needle stick injury. However the outcome of any resultant
disease following transfer of even a small amount of Ebola virus, and
the consequences of administration of an untried experimental
vaccine, cannot be assessed at this stage. No information has been
released regarding the identity of the strain of Ebola virus involved
in this incident. There are 5 subtypes of Ebola virus. Four of the 5
have caused disease in humans: Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan, Ebola-Ivory
Coast and Ebola-Bundibugyo. The 5th, Ebola-Reston, has caused disease
in nonhuman primates, but not in humans. Detailed information on
Ebola virus can be accessed at:
<http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvrd/Spb/mnpa ... ola/qa.htm>. - Mod.CP]
.............................mpp/cp/ejp/dk

[Birgitt]

Spektakulärer Laborunfall mit einem Ebola-Virus: Eine Wissenschaftlerin des Hamburger Tropeninstituts wurde nach einem Nadelstich in eine Klinik eingeliefert. Dort liegt sie in Quarantäne, zeigt bisher keine Zeichen einer Infektion - erstmals wird sie mit einem genveränderten Impfstoff behandelt ...

Forscherin wegen Ebola-Verdachts in Uniklinik eingeliefert
17.03.2009 - Spiegel

Gruß
Birgitt

[Birgitt]

EBOLAVIRUS, NEEDLE STICK INJURY - GERMANY (02): (HAMBURG)
**********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Wed 18 Mar 2009
Source: AAAS, Science - ScienceInsider [edited]
<http://blogs.sciencemag.org/scienceinsi ... s-aro.html>


Researchers worldwide rally to help scientist exposed to Ebola
--------------------------------------------------------------
The accidental exposure of a scientist to ebolavirus last week [12
Mar 2009] has triggered a series of teleconferences by Ebola
scientists on 2 sides of the Atlantic united around a single goal: to
help save the life of their colleague, an unnamed virologist at the
Bernard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, Germany,
who pricked herself in the finger during an experiment. No approved
treatments exist for ebolavirus infection, but at the sessions,
researchers and physicians discussed the results from a raft of
recent studies, some not yet published, into treatments that could
prevent or slow the disease, which has a mortality rate of up to 90 percent.

In the end, the patient and her doctor opted not for an experimental
drug but for a new type of living vaccine that has never been tested
in humans but has been shown in monkeys to help fight the virus even
when given after exposure. An injury from a virus-laden syringe often
doesn't lead to infection and disease, because the amount of virus
entering the body is small. But the researcher's doctors want to
reduce the risk as much as they can.

Today [18 Mar 2009] was the 6th day after the needle accident, and
the small community of ebolavirus researchers has been anxiously
following news about the researcher's fate.

She is currently doing well, says Stephan Guenther, the head of
virology at the Bernard Nocht Institute. But ebolavirus infection can
have an incubation period anywhere between 4 and 21 days, which means
she could still fall ill. In monkeys, the virus is usually detectable
in the blood starting on day 3, 4, or 5, says Boston University
virologist Thomas Geisbert, who has more experience than any other
researcher with the virus in animals. That may be different in
humans, Geisbert stresses, but still, "the chances that she'll be
okay are getting better every day."

Immediately after the researcher pricked herself last Thursday [12
Mar 2009], Guenther says he tried to assemble the best minds in the
field. During a series of teleconferences -- which included
researchers from the Canadian Science Centre for Human and Animal
Health in Winnipeg, the US Army Medical Research Institute of
Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Maryland, and the US
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia --
researchers discussed a long list of possible treatment options.

The vaccine that eventually was picked was developed by Heinz
Feldmann and his colleagues at the Winnipeg lab along with Geisbert,
who tested it in macaque monkeys at USAMRIID. The vaccine is based on
vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), a pathogen of cattle, horses, and
pigs, whose glycoprotein has been replaced with that of an
ebolavirus. In 2003, the researchers showed that a single shot of the
virus offers protection in monkeys (Science, 14 November 2003, p. 1141).

A lot of time was spent last week debating the safety aspects of the
vaccine; because it is a living virus that replicates inside its
hosts, some worry that it could prove risky. And in contrast to
another ebolavirus vaccine based on DNA, it has never been tested in
humans. But its key advantage is that, at least in monkeys, it has
been shown to offer protection even after exposure, says Guenther. In
a 2008 study, Feldmann and Geisbert showed that when given 20 minutes
after a lethal shot of Ebola-Sudan virus, one of the 5 subtypes
[species] of the virus, half of the monkeys got sick, but all
survived. With Ebola-Zaire virus, the subtype [species] to which the
researcher in Hamburg was exposed, 5 out of 8 monkeys survived the
virus. In as-yet-unpublished work, the researchers also gave a
vaccine against Marburg, a close cousin of Ebola, 1 or even 2 days
after exposure, says Geisbert, and they found that it still offered
partial protection. He expects the same will be true for the
ebolavirus vaccine.

Feldmann arranged shipment of the vaccine against Ebola-Zaire virus
from Winnipeg the day the accident happened [12 Mar 2009], and it
reached the lab in Hamburg less than 48 hours after the accident,
says Guenther. (The researcher herself made the decision to have the
vaccine, he says.) Meanwhile, a company called ARCA Biopharma,
headquartered in Colorado, rushed to Hamburg a supply of an
experimental anticoagulant drug called rNAPc2, which studies by
Geisbert and colleagues have also shown to have promise against
ebolavirus. But that has not been used so far, says Guenther.

After she received the vaccine, the researcher began running a fever.
Because it was unclear whether this was due to the onset of
ebolavirus disease or a reaction to the vaccine, she was placed in an
isolation unit, shielded from the world by plastic, says Guenther.
The fever is gone now, and doctors would like to take her out of the
unit and back into a normal hospital ward, says Guenther.
"Psychologically, the isolation is very difficult," he says, and she
could always be put back in should ebolavirus infection symptoms
emerge. But the institute is "struggling a little" with Hamburg
public health authorities reluctant to let the patient out, he says.
Because so few ebolavirus infections have occurred in developed
countries, there's no consensus on the right precautions.

The researcher was working on a study that involved mice, says
Guenther, who says he does not know the exact nature of the
experiment. The last known lab exposure to an ebolavirus, at USAMRIID
in 2004, also involved mice. While a scientist tried to inject one of
the animals using a hypodermic needle that had previously been used
on other mice, researchers wrote in a 2008 paper about the case, "the
animal kicked the syringe, causing the needle to pierce the person's
left-hand gloves, resulting in a small laceration." That researcher
did not become infected, however.

--
Communicated by:
Martin Enserink
Contributing correspondent
Science magazine
Paris, France
<http://www.science.com>
<menserin@aaas.org>

[ProMED-mail thanks Martin Enserink for drawing attention to this
report, which adds additional information concerning the incident in
Hamburg, including identification of the ebolavirus involved, the
nature of the vaccine administered and the treatment protocol. So far
the patient remains well.

Prof Charles H Calisher has reminded me of the correct nomenclature
for these viruses. "The genus is _Ebolavirus_. Therefore, any virus
in the genus is 'an ebolavirus', not 'Ebola virus'; there is no such
thing as 'Ebola virus', c.f. 'dengue virus'. The 5 viruses mentioned
are not subtypes, they are viruses within the genus." (I have amended
the ScienceInsider text where appropriate). - Mod.CP]

[A previous (fatal) lab case reported by ProMED-mail is Archive
Number 20040823.2350 Published Date 23-AUG-2004
Subject PRO/AH> Ebola, lab accident death - Russia (Siberia) (04). - Mod.JW]

[Alexander]

Sie experimentieren mit Ebola-, Hanta- und anderen Killerviren. Warum Marburger Wissenschaftler sich dennoch bei ihrer hochgefährlichen Laborarbeit sicher fühlen ...

Süddeutsche: Eiserne Regeln und ein Herz aus Edelstahl

Grüsse
Alexander

[Birgitt]

EBOLAVIRUS, NEEDLE STICK INJURY - GERMANY (03): (HAMBURG)
*********************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Sat 28 Mar 2009
Source: The Toronto Star, Associated Press report [edited]
<http://www.thestar.com/article/609787>


Ebola scientists turn to Canadian vaccine
-----------------------------------------
It was a nightmare scenario -- a scientist accidentally pricking her
finger with a needle used to inject the deadly ebolavirus into lab
mice. Within hours, members of a far-flung but tightly bound
community of virologists, biologists, and others were tensely
gathered in a transatlantic telephone conference trying to map out a
way to save her life.

Less than 24 hours later, an experimental vaccine never before tried
on humans was on its way to Germany from Canada's National
Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. And within 48 hours of the 12
Mar 2009 accident, the at-risk scientist, a 45-year-old woman whose
identity has not been revealed, was injected with the vaccine. So
far, so good. If the woman is still healthy next Thursday [2 Apr
2009], she can consider herself safe.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever, seen mainly in Africa, is one of the world's
most feared diseases. It begins with flu-like symptoms, followed by
bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Days later, some victims bleed through
the nose, mouth and eyes. Depending on the strain of virus, it can
kill up to 90 per cent of victims. There is no cure. The virus is
spread through direct contact with the blood or secretions of an
infected person.

Dr Stephan Guenther, head of the Bernhard Nocht Institute for
Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, where the researcher was working, said
tests so far show the scientist is healthy and free of the virus. The
peak period for an outbreak during the 21-day ebolavirus incubation
period passed this week, he said. "We are now on the downside,"
Guenther said, noting that with each passing day the chance of
infection taking root diminishes.

It's not entirely clear the researcher was actually infected with the
virus. At the time of the accident, she was wearing 3 layers of
protective gloves, and though the needle stuck her, the plunger of
the syringe was not pushed so it's not certain the virus entered her
bloodstream. That means scientists may never know if the vaccine
worked or she was just lucky. There are 2 other known accidents
involving researchers who came into direct contact with a similar
strain of Ebola. A Russian researcher died, and a British scientist
became ill but survived.

After the needle stick, Guenther knew he had to act swiftly. He
rushed an email to fellow scientists, including Dr Heinz Feldmann,
chief of the virology laboratory at the Rocky Mountain Laboratories,
a research facility in Hamilton, Montana. "We considered this as
serious as (the Russian) case, in terms of the exposure," Feldmann
said. Feldmann was part of an international group of experts from the
Canadian Public Health Agency, US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious
Diseases, the Boston University, and the University of Texas Medical
Branch. Feldmann, Guenther, and several other experts took part in
the teleconference debating the options. The option that emerged as
the strongest was the vaccine that had been developed by Feldmann and
collaborating researchers at several institutions. Much of the key
work was done about 9 years ago at the microbiology research lab in
Winnipeg where Feldmann worked at the time. Although the vaccine is
based on a different kind of virus, researchers used genetic
engineering to make the virus look like Ebola, triggering an immune
system response.

[Byline: Melissa Eddy, Mike Stobbe]

--
Communicated by:
Richard NK Chong
<rchong@sympatico.ca>

[This report provides some additional detail regarding the incident
in Hamburg and the encouraging information that the patient appears
to be free of virus (as of 29 Mar 2009) and may soon be considered
out of danger. - Mod.CP]

[Birgitt]

EBOLAVIRUS, NEEDLE STICK INJURY GERMANY (04): HAMBURG
*****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Fri 3 Apr 2009
Source: Taiwan News, Associated Press report [edited]
<http://daily.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news ... ews_Health>


Researcher healthy 21 days after Ebola accident
-----------------------------------------------
A researcher who may have been exposed to the deadly ebolavirus was
declared healthy and released from isolation at a German hospital
Thursday [2 Apr 2009], having been spared the horrific symptoms of the disease.

The woman had accidentally pricked her finger 3 weeks ago [12 Mar
2009] with a needle used to inject Ebola into mice. It was not known
if the virus actually entered her bloodstream, but she was given an
experimental vaccine just in case. The vaccine had never been tested
on humans. Scientists don't know if the vaccine saved her or if she
was simply lucky not to get the disease during an excruciating 21-day
waiting period. "The patient is healthy. We're happy about that,"
said Dr Stefan Schmiedel, who attended to her at a Hamburg hospital.

Doctors said they would now study her immune response for evidence of
whether she actually contracted the virus, and whether the vaccine
helped her defeat it. "It's possible we'll never know with 100
percent certainty," said Dr Stephan Guenther, head of the Bernhard
Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg, where the woman worked.

On 12 Mar 2009, the unidentified 45-year-old nicked her finger
through 3 layers of protective gloves while working on lab mice
injected with the ebolavirus. In the hours after the accident, an
international group including virologists and biologists held a
telephone conference to brainstorm a strategy that might save her
life. Among several risky options, the team chose the experimental
vaccine, and within 48 hours it was sent from a lab in Canada and
injected into the woman. Hours later she developed a headache, muscle
pain, and a fever -- symptoms that passed quickly and did not return.

"We believe she's overcome everything," Guenther said. "It's been 3
weeks. That's a very conservative estimate for Ebola." Guenther said
scientists will analyze the woman for antibodies in an attempt to
determine whether they came solely from the vaccine or whether she
was generating others, signaling that she had been infected. "The
vaccination only contained [proteins capable of inducing] antibodies
against surface Ebola proteins. If she was building antibodies to
other proteins, then they must have stemmed from a true infection,"
Guenther said. She may not have contracted Ebola at all. Though the
needle stuck her, the plunger of the syringe was not pushed, so it's
not certain the virus entered her bloodstream.

Ebola hemorrhagic fever, seen mostly in Africa, is one of the world's
most feared diseases. It begins with flu-like symptoms, followed by
bloody diarrhea and vomiting. Days later, some victims begin bleeding
through the nose, mouth, and eyes. Depending on the strain of virus,
it can kill up to 90 percent of victims. So far, there is no cure.
The virus is spread through direct contact with the blood or
secretions of an infected person. There are 2 other known accidents
involving researchers who came into direct contact with a similar
strain of Ebola. A Russian researcher died, and a British scientist
became ill but survived.

[Byline: Patrick McGroarty]

--
Communicated by:
HealthMap Alerts via ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>

[This incident appears to have had a favourable outcome and the
patient has at no time displayed symptoms of ebolavirus infection.
Hopefully this is now the end of this story.

Analysis of the patient's immune responses should determine whether
she sustained a productive infection (by the presence of antibodies
to the non-structural proteins of ebolavirus not present in the
experimental vaccine), and to what extent the experimental vaccine
was amplified by determination of the titre of antibodies to the
vesicular stomatitis virus components of the vaccine. Such analysis
might indicate to what extent the fever experienced by the patient
was no more than a response to vaccination. - Mod.CP]

[Birgitt]

EBOLA HEMORRHAGIC FEVER, FRUIT BAT - DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, 2007
***********************************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
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<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Fri 29 May 2009
Source: allAfrica.com, ex SciDev.Net [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200905290730.html>


Central Africa: scientists find more signs of bats' role in Ebola
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ebolavirus, a filovirus, causes fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, and sometimes
bleeding. There is no treatment or vaccine and 25-90 per cent of infected
people die. The virus is transmitted by direct contact with infected blood,
body fluids, and tissues. The new findings have emerged from data collected
in the remote Kasai-Occidental and Kasai provinces of the Democratic
Republic of Congo (DRC) which experienced a large Ebola [hemorrhagic fever]
outbreak in 2007 in which 186 people died. Some members of the research
team helped discover in 2005 that fruit bats are a natural reservoir of the
ebolavirus.

For the new study, researchers led by Eric Leroy from the International
Centre for Medical Research in Franceville, Gabon, interviewed locals about
the background of the ebolavirus infection cases. They were told that the
annual migration of the fruit bat _Hypsignathus monstrosus_ was
particularly large in 2007. Bats are an important source of protein in the
area as wild animals are in short supply. They are often shot and then sold
covered in blood.

The researchers believe the source of the 2007 outbreak was a man who
bought bats at market. He survived, experiencing only a low fever, but his
4 year old daughter died after developing a sudden fever accompanied by
vomiting. A family friend who prepared the girl's body for burial was
subsequently infected and went on to infect 11 members of her family, all
of whom died. Researchers say their study suggests infection is only
transmitted after prolonged contact with an infected person, meaning it may
be easier to contain an outbreak than was previously believed.

Jean-Jacques Muyembe, epidemiologist at the DRC's National Biomedical
Research Instituteand co-author of the study, told SciDev.Net that the team
will continue to retrace events around outbreaks and carry out ecological
studies on bats "to definitely prove that these bats are the direct vectors
of Ebola [hemorrhagic fever] to humans." Vital Mondonge, a co-author from
the infectious disease section of DRC's health ministry, says that the bat
migration should be a focus of efforts to prevent ebolavirus infection.
Chimpanzees and gorillas are also known ebolavirus vectors. Bats, however,
appear not to die from ebolavirus [infection], suggesting they play a role
in maintaining the virus in tropical forests. The research was published in
March in Vector-borne and Zoonotic diseases: Vector-Borne and Zoonotic
Diseases doi 10.1089=vbz.2008.0167 (2009).

[byline: Esther Tola and Christina Scott]

--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail rapporteur Susan Baekeland

[This report is based on the following publication: EM Leroy, A Epelboin, V
Mondonge, X Pourrut, J-P Gonzalez, J-J Muyembe-Tamfum, et al. Human Ebola
outbreak resulting from direct exposure to fruit bats in Luebo, Democratic
Republic of Congo, 2007. Vector-borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 28 Mar 2009
<http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10 ... .2008.0167>.

Abstract: "Twelve years after the Kikwit Ebola outbreak in 1995, ebolavirus
reemerged in the Occidental Kasai province of the Democratic Republic of
Congo (DRC) between May and November 2007, affecting more than 260 humans
and causing 186 deaths. During this latter outbreak we conducted several
epidemiological investigations to identify the underlying ecological
conditions and animal sources. Qualitative social and environmental data
were collected through interviews with villagers and by direct observation.
The local populations reported no unusual morbidity or mortality among wild
or domestic animals, but they described a massive annual fruit bat
migration toward the southeast, up the Lulua River. Migrating bats settled
in the outbreak area for several weeks, between April and May, nestling in
the numerous fruit trees in Ndongo and Koumelele islands as well as in palm
trees of a largely abandoned plantation. They were massively hunted by
villagers, for whom they represented a major source of protein. By tracing
back the initial human-human transmission events, we were able to show
that, in May, the putative 1st human victim bought freshly killed bats from
hunters to eat. We were able to reconstruct the likely initial human-human
transmission events that preceded the outbreak. This study provides the
most likely sequence of events linking a human Ebola [hemorrhagic fever]
outbreak to exposure to fruit bats, a putative virus reservoir. These
findings support the suspected role of bats in the natural cycle of
ebolavirus and indicate that the massive seasonal fruit bat migrations
should be taken into account in operational Ebola [hemorrhagic fever] risk
maps and seasonal alerts in the DRC."

In their discussion the authors point out that these findings strongly
suggest that ebolavirus can be contracted by humans through direct exposure
to fruit bats, and the massive fruit bat migrations should therefore be
taken into account in operational Ebola [hemorrhagic fver] risk maps and
seasonal alerts. Specific studies of the routes and dates of fruit bat
migration are needed. However, in the short term, it may be difficult or
even impossible to halt human consumption of fruit bats, which represent a
readily available and abundant source of protein, especially as many game
species are protected or becoming rare.

The authors point out in addition that these observations raise several
questions. Firstly, why was there only one bat-to-human transmission event?
The outbreak only really started after the 3rd human case had occurred.
Transmission from the father to his daughter, then from the girl's corpse
to another person, took place in very particular circumstances and went
unnoticed. In fact, it is highly likely that several other persons were
infected by bats but the circumstances required for subsequent
human-to-human transmission were not present.

Secondly, why was only one secondary case observed among all the people who
came into contact with patient? The mild illness (isolated fever) in the
primary case suggests a low viral load. This would imply a low risk of
transmission to another person, except in certain conditions (such as,
close and long-lasting contact, with a young child, for example).

Thirdly, why was the first secondary case so rapidly fatal (4 days)? The
answer is probably that this patient, being a young child, succumbed
rapidly to untreated dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhoea.

The full text of the paper contains a map of the location of the outbreak
and an image of the fruit bat _Hypsignathus monstrosus_ identified as the
carrier of the virus:
<http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10 ... .2008.0167>. - Mod.CP]

[Birgitt]

Ebolaviren gehören zu den für Menschen und für Affen gefährlichsten Viren der Welt. Bis zu 90 Prozent der Infizierten sterben an dem hämorrhagischen Fieber. Bisher gibt es keine Impfung gegen Ebolaviren. Forscher der Universität von Texas in Galveston berichten nun im Fachmagazin "Drug Discovery Research", dass sie eine Möglichkeit gefunden haben, die Vermehrung des Virus in den Wirtszellen zu verhindern ...

Neuer Ansatz im Kampf gegen Ebola-Viren
25.06.2009 - Welt

Gruß
Birgitt

[schu achbar ?]

Gibts eigentlich irgendwas Neues über den Wirt ?
Hat man da den Kreis schon etwas enger gezogen um kleine Nager oder Fledermäuse ?
Obwohl die Opferzahlen gering sind... irgendwie ist dieses Virus ja
ein "Publikumsliebling".
Liegt wohl an der Heftigkeit des Krankheitsverlaufs u, der ungeklärten Frage des geheimnisvollen Wirtes.