Siriraj comes up with an antibody for Ebola

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: A Thai medical school has successfully produced an antibody for the treatment of the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever.

Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital is preparing to announce its success at a press conference scheduled for Thursday.

The medical breakthrough marks the first time that Thailand has been able to produce such an antibody. Present at the event will be the faculty’s dean Udom Kachintorn and a team of doctors and researchers.

Though there has never been an Ebola infection in Thailand, the disease has been posing a haunting threat this year as it has claimed many lives in Africa. Many people from the Ebola-hit continent have travelled to Bangkok, which is an aviation hub.

The mortality rate for the disease is high. According to MedLine Plus, a service of the US National Library of Medicine, as many as 90 per cent of Ebola patients finally succumb to the disease. Patients usually die from low blood pressure than from blood loss. There is no known cure.

Existing antiviral medication does not work well against the Ebola virus. Treatment for the massive drop in blood pressure includes medication and fluids given intravenously. Bleeding problems may require transfusions of platelets or fresh blood.

The antibody that the Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital has produced, therefore, can be of crucial importance for the treatment.

— Phuket Gazette Editors