A
British nurse, William Pooley, who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone and
was treated with the experimental drug, Zmapp, has recovered and has
been discharged from hospital.
The drug was credited with
saving the lives of two American missionaries earlier this month. It had
been thought that supplies of ZMapp had run out, but doctors at the
Royal Free Hospital, in London, managed to get hold of some from abroad
and Mr Pooley was given the first dose on Monday.
Further doses are expected to be given to him “in due course”.
Dr
Michael Jacobs, consultant in infectious diseases at the hospital,
said: “We have had the opportunity to give him the ZMapp treatment that I
am sure you are aware of. It is an experimental medicine, we made that
absolutely clear in our discussions with him.”
Dr Jacobs added: “What has become apparent to us is that he is clearly a rather resilient and remarkable young man.”
Mr
Pooley’s condition was described as “very stable”, and he has been
sitting up in bed, talking and reading, and been in good spirits.
There
is no cure for Ebola, but encouraging results with people who have been
given ZMapp suggest it is the nearest thing to a cure currently
available.
American manufacturers said they had run out of stock
of the magic drug when the Nigerian government requested for its use for
treating Nigerian health workers who contracted the deadly virus.
But after Mr. Pooley was diagnosed with the virus and transported home, he received the scarce treatment late August.
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