#mb-003

[manachi34]

[dapurinthos]

Okay, people, we're going to talk about this so-called miracle cure for EBOV.

SO: a vaccine/cure for EBOV is actually something that's been worked on for years (literally since the first outbreak of Ebola in Zaire). The last I had heard of any serum developments was last year regarding a cocktail of monoclonal antibodies called MB-003. 100% of the nonhuman primates survived when it was administered during the first 24 hours, however past the 24 hour mark, the efficacy decreases. After the appearance of a fever and a positive PCR test, 3/7 rhesus macaques survived. MB-003 is one half of the current ZMapp serum, which itself has only been in existence since about January of this year.

ZMapp itself also had an efficacy of 100% when administered immediately, and only a slight increase from 43% to 50% when administered in monkeys 48 hours post-exposure (though this was done with only four monkeys, so keep in mind that these sample groups are very very small and that nothing has been replicated; I would also posit that the efficacy of ZMapp would continue to decline post-48 hours).

It takes about two weeks for a new crop of the antibodies required for the serum to be grown and harvested from tobacco plants. This is about a decade of collaborative work, and the serums themselves have only been produced and reproducible since 2012.

so: ADMINISTERING THIS SERUM AFTER THE APPEARANCE OF SYMPTOMS ONLY HAS A 50% EFFICACY RATE. It is not a cure; it is not a miracle serum. It is a product that has been untested in humans, cannot be manufactured on a grand scale yet, and it is ridiculously expensive to make (you're looking at about $4000 per person and that's on the lowest part of the scale; that's the sale price).