Ebola treatment beds prevented 40000 deaths in Sierra Leone

Health workers don protective gear before entering a quarantine zone at a Red Cross facility in the town of Koidu, eastern Sierra Leone, in December 2014.

This focused on increasing the number of available treatment beds which isolated the ill to prevent further infections in the community, changing behaviour so people suspected of having Ebola sought treatment early, and making burials safe. Not a single person tested positive for the virus during one week earlier this month, the first time that has happened since March 2014, according to the World Health Organization.

The threat of Ebola remains in Sierra Leone thus “any attempt to find a cure to the dreaded disease is most welcome news”, said Kamara.

Between September 2014 and February 2015, Britain – which led the response in Sierra Leone – introduced more than 1,500 beds into Ebola holding centres and community centres and 1,200 beds into specialised treatment units, with the volunteer staff and equipment to run them.

“Our findings show the unprecedented local and worldwide response led to a substantial decline in Ebola transmission”, said Kucharski.

Almost two years after it began, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa appears almost over.

He said the vaccine could contribute to the government efforts to contain the deadly disease.

Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, said that there are separate studies being conducted in the USA, Europe and Africa as part of the accelerated development plan to prevent Ebola outbreaks. As of October 2015, over 28,400 people have been infected with the virus across the three countries, and almost 11,300 have died – including more than 500 health care workers.

Given that the Ebola case fatality rate in Sierra Leone was near 70 percent, the researchers estimate this averted 40,000 deaths.

The world already has one successful Ebola vaccine, with Merck and NewLink Genetics’ product proving 100-percent effective in a clinical study in Guinea in July. In stage 2, a larger group of approximately 400 individuals will be vaccinated to further evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of the vaccine regimen across different age groups.

It was commissioned by the global development charity Voluntary Service Overseas and carried out in partnership with WaterAid and Sierra Leone’s Ministry of Health and Sanitation.

Janssen’s EBOVAC1 and EBODAC consortia partners also include the University of Oxford, Inserm, Grameen Foundation and World Vision of Ireland.