Share

UK Ebola patient discharged from hospital

London - A British man who contracted Ebola in West Africa has been discharged after successful treatment with the experimental ZMapp drug, the Royal Free Hospital in London said on Wednesday.

William Pooley, 29, was treated in a special isolation unit after contracting the deadly disease in August when working as a volunteer nurse in Sierra Leone.

"Following 10 days of successful treatment in the high level isolation unit - the only one in the UK - Mr Pooley is being discharged from the Royal Free Hospital today," the hospital said in a statement on its website.

"He was flown to the hospital on Sunday 24 August 2014 and was treated with the experimental drug ZMapp," it added.

'I was very lucky in several ways'

Pooley later told reporters at a news conference he thought he had been fortunate.

"I was very lucky in several ways," he said. "Firstly in the standard of care that I received, which is a world apart from what people are receiving in West Africa at the moment despite lot of organisations' best efforts.

"The other difference to a lot of Ebola cases [is] that my symptoms never progressed to the worst stages of the disease. I had some unpleasant symptoms but nothing compared to some of the worst of the disease."

Governments and aid organisations have scrambled to contain the disease, which according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) has killed more than 1 500 in West Africa since March.

Human safety trials

ZMapp is one of several treatments for Ebola under development. The drug, although never tested in humans, gained attention this summer when two American aid workers who contracted Ebola in Liberia were cured after receiving it.

ZMapp, which uses antibodies from tobacco plants, is made by the privately held Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc, based in San Diego, California.

The US Department of Health and Human Services has said a federal contract worth up to $42.3m would help accelerate testing of the treatment.

It said Mapp would manufacture a small amount of ZMapp for early stage safety studies and animal studies needed to prove its effectiveness and safety in people.

Human safety trials are due to begin this week on a vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline Plc and later this year on one from NewLink Genetics Corporation.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Do you think corruption-accused National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula will survive a motion of no confidence against her?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
No, her days are numbered
41% - 541 votes
Yes, the ANC caucus will protect her
59% - 772 votes
Vote
Rand - Dollar
18.89
+0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.82
+0.4%
Rand - Euro
20.37
+0.3%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.30
+0.3%
Rand - Yen
0.12
+0.3%
Platinum
908.05
0.0%
Palladium
1,014.94
0.0%
Gold
2,232.75
-0.0%
Silver
24.95
-0.1%
Brent Crude
87.00
+1.8%
Top 40
68,346
0.0%
All Share
74,536
0.0%
Resource 10
57,251
0.0%
Industrial 25
103,936
0.0%
Financial 15
16,502
0.0%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE