Well, f*#k.

[red321]

We're not talking about something like insulin here, we're talking about one of the deadliest diseases on the planet.  Something like 900 people have died from Ebola this year in Africa, and not one peep from the US about having a serum or experimental drug available.  Then when suddenly two Americans contract the disease, they're flown back to the states and are miraculously up and walking around an hour after being treated while almost making a full recovery the last I heard.

 

Having patents on insulin is one thing, but a patent on an Ebola serum/cure is a crime against humanity, IMHO.  Having a "patent" on a cure or serum for one of the deadliest diseases out there literally turns Ebola into a WMD unless given to the rest of the world to save their people's lives.

 

I'm not a scientist, nor do I play one on tv...or stay at the Holiday Inn. I'm also guessing you aren't as well.

 

I'm also guessing neither of us are experts on how drugs are brought to market, or the vast amount of testing it takes before a drug is giving to humans, or how very very careful they are looking like they are doing human experimentation, especially in poorer countries.

 

Here is an article I read earlier that I thought discussed the subject ok. I'll just go with ok because as I mentioned, I didn't stay at the Holiday Inn.

 

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/why-did-americans-get-the-drugs

 

 

Here is a key section, though the whole thing is worth a gander

 

 

This means, first, that this probably wouldn't have been considered a "treatment" yet, just a promising lead. But second: trying a drug at this stage on humans has serious ethical risks. You'd want to be really, really sure that the people in question had given informed consent, and that that informed consent included their being absolutely clear that this drug not only might not work, but that it might actually be harmful to them. You'd want to be sure that they understood what it means for a drug to be at this preliminary stage of testing, and that they fully appreciated the fact that they were taking a huge gamble. (No, this procedure was not designed with something as nightmarish as Ebola in mind, something that makes statements like 'you know, you're assuming a real risk here' sound silly, but still. It was a real risk. Ebola is not 100% lethal; it's quite possible that an untested treatment could kill someone who would otherwise have recovered.) I think that this (along with the fact that the drug seems to require careful handling of the sort that would best be provided in a serious hospital, and the fact that there seems to have been only a limited amount of the drug available) would argue strongly in favor of trying the drug first on doctors, and specifically doctors who understand how much of the normal testing process was being bypassed, and what that meant....

....As for why American doctors: here I am really speculating, but: I have read the same articles you probably have about the levels of distrust in the affected countries. I cannot imagine what it would be like things went badly wrong and Westerners were seen to be killing e.g. Liberians. Especially if the US government was (as the reporting suggests) involved in getting the drug to them.

 

 

Edited August 5, 2014 by red321

[red321]

So Doc...we have good news and bad news...

 

The good news is you are cured of Ebola!

 

The bad news is you are now addicted to nicotine and will start up a pack a day habit

 

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/ebola-virus-outbreak/ebola-treatment-how-big-tobacco-military-came-together-n173311

[HaloMagic]

alrighty then thanks

That would have been the perfect time to fill everyone else in on the reports you see. Thanks for not doing so.

[HaloMagic]

o o k

[Mudville]

[arch stanton]

Saudis have added Sierra Leone to the list of countries not getting any Haj visas.

[Sully151]

Interesting article on te "secret serum"

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/07/business/an-obscure-biotech-firm-hurries-ebola-treatment.html?referrer=

[RallyMo]

They really ought to make the areas where it is right now quarantine zones. This is serious shit.

Yep.

[RallyMo]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/health/how-ebola-spreads/#b10g15f20b14

[Blarg]

It appears one dead carrier has infected two highly trained health workers that were in contact with the public during the time they could transmit the disease.

We're ****ed.

Edited October 15, 2014 by notti