Monrovia – Four days after launching what could be a medical breakthrough for Ebola survivors, the Principal investigators for the PREVAIL Natural History Study and Persistent Ebola Virus Study, Thursday, July 7 provided more details about the studies at the MICAT Press briefing in Monrovia.
The Co-Principal Investigators for the new study, the Persistent Ebola Virus Study also known as PREVAIL IV, Dr. Dehkontee Gayedyu-Dennis said because the Ebola virus may stay hidden in certain parts of the body and body fluids, such as semen, even after a person recovers from Ebola, scientists are hard at work to develop drugs to tackle the virus.
Dr. Dennis said the virus can persist because the body’s immune system cannot easily reach and fight off the virus that is hiding in these protected places.
She said as a result, PREVAIL IV study was developed. According to her, the study is particularly designed to find out if an investigational drug called GS-5734 can safely get rid of or reduce the amount of Ebola virus that may persist in the semen of some male Ebola survivors.
Dr. Dennis, who’s also the site Physician for the PREVAIL Natural History Study at the Duport Road health center further disclosed that the drug has been used before in the United States and in Guinea.
The drug was used on compassionate grounds to treat a Scottish nurse who had recovered from Ebola but had an Ebola virus relapse, and to help treat a baby in Guinea who had the virus. The drug is manufactured by the U.S. biopharmaceutical company Gilead Sciences, based in California.
She called on survivors to enroll in the study. The side effects for the drug is mild to moderate which includes reduced appetite, constipation, headache and nausea. But these side effects go away within days. She stated however, that not all persons will experience all these side effects. Some people may experience some of these side effects while others may not.
To enrol in the study, a survivor must have already enrolled in the Ebola Natural History Study or PREVAIL III who has evidence of the Ebola virus present in one or two semen samples taken within 42 days of enrolment.
For this study, we are going to enrol between 60 to 120 male survivors who are 18 years or older. In addition, they must also meet all the eligibility criteria to ensure that they have no liver or kidney problems. The study will last for about six to seven months.
For her part, the Co-Principal Investigator for PREVAIL IV, Dr. Elizabeth Higgs, who’s also the Global Health Advisor at the US National Institutes of Health praised the PREVAIL partnership for high level of research being conducted and the Ministry of Health for the cooperation.
She said the Liberian and US staff are working well together and are meeting all ethical and regulatory framework to ensure that the study continues to meet international standards.
She said although there are no new Ebola cases in Liberia and in the region, scientists will continue to work on vaccine and therapeutics to prevent future outbreaks. She said PREVAIL has worked on a candidate vaccine that has a good safety record and has the potential of being effective against Ebola.
Earlier, the Principal Investigator for the Ebola Natural History Study, Dr. Mosoka Fallah said effort are being made to provide not only vaccines for prevention but also medical care for survivors.
He spoke of the various sub-studies being conducted by PREVAIL to find out why after recovering from Ebola, many survivors are experiencing a range of health problems. These sub studies include, the eye, neurology, semen, birth cohorts and now the Persistent Virus Study.