Ebola Survivors

When Abibatu and Lanphia finally returned home from the field treatment centre where they came close to losing their lives to Ebola, they hoped it was an end to the terrible price that the virus which had robbed them of their father and two brothers had exacted from their family.

Instead, what awaited them was a second battle for survival against the disease – this time the struggle against stigmatisation and rejection by a community which blamed them for bringing the disease into their midst in Sierra Leone and sought turn them into outcasts.

Antibodies targeting the Ebola virus surface glycoprotein (EBOV GP) are implicated in protection against lethal disease, but the characteristics of the human antibody response to EBOV GP remain poorly understood. We isolated and characterized 349 GP-specific monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) from the peripheral B cells of a convalescent donor who survived the 2014 EBOV Zaire outbreak. Remarkably, 77% of the mAbs neutralize live EBOV, and several mAbs exhibit unprecedented potency. Structures of selected mAbs in complex with GP reveal a site of vulnerability located in the GP stalk region proximal to the viral membrane. Neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) targeting this site show potent therapeutic efficacy against lethal EBOV challenge in mice. The results provide a framework for the design of new EBOV vaccine candidates and immunotherapies.

(complet article)

Freetown, Sierra Leone: In a collaborative effort between the Government of Sierra Leone and its development partners to improve the access to and availability of high-quality health services in the country, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MOHS), JSI Research & Training Institute, Inc. (JSI), Action Contre la Faim, and Save the Children will officially launch the Advancing Partners & Communities project: “Strengthening Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, and Child Health (RMNCH) Services as part of the Post-Ebola Health Sector Recovery in Western Area” on Wednesday, March 9th, 2016 at the Sierra Leone Bank Complex. The project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

People of Tambakha and Magbaimba N’dowahun Chiefdoms were in jubilant mood last Saturday, 12th March 2016 when Health Poverty Action (HPA) handed over to the Ministry of Health and Sanitation two upgraded BIMOC health centres.