NIH launches Ebola treatment study

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases today launched a clinical trial to obtain safety and efficacy data on the investigational drug ZMapp as a treatment for Ebola virus disease. The trial will enroll adults and children admitted to Ebola treatment units in Liberia, health care workers infected in West Africa who return to the U.S. for treatment, and adults and children who acquire Ebola in the U.S. through secondary transmission. The National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, will serve as a U.S. treatment center for the study. Additional U.S. trial sites may include the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, and University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the agency said. It expects the trial to conclude in December 2016 and establish a framework for evaluating other potential Ebola treatments.