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Regional
A TEAM OF scientists from the World Health Organisation begun arriving in Uganda at the weekend to prepare for new excursions into the jungles of eastern Congo in search of the Marburg virus.
This follows results of laboratory tests done in South Africa whose results showed that three out of the nine samples of blood collected in eastern Congo in August had the Marburg virus, a relative of the Ebola disease, putting Ugandan Health officials on high alert.
According to the WHO Kampala office, the experts will be searching for the elusive source of recent outbreaks of haemorrhagic fever that is related to the Ebola and Marburg viruses.
The WHO team, which includes an expert from the Centre for Disease Control as well as epidemiologists and entomologists, comes in the wake of recent reports that scientists may have found a cure to the deadly fever in a plant used in traditional African medicine. Treatment may be available in two years if financial and scientific hurdles are overcome, according to reports.
The source of the Marburg virus has not been identified as tests on bats and other rodents found in the Durba mines, which were first suspected to be the source, have been found negative.
The blood samples found positive were collected from patients in Durba, Province Orientale, between August 11 and August 20. Professor Francis Omaswa, the Director of Health Services in Uganda, told The EastAfrican that three of the samples sent to South Africa's Special Pathogens Unit, National Institute for Virology, Sandringham, were positive and Uganda had taken precautions to guard against the virus spreading. Health authorities, he said, have prepared materials such as intravenous drugs in case the disease spreads to Uganda.
The World Health Organisation had earlier considered sending a team of experts to the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to try and locate the source of the Marburg virus.
An expert at the Uganda Virus Research Institute in Entebbe said they did not have anything on a possible new treatment but development of a new treatment for the deadly disease would be a significant advance.
So far, the only trial treatments available are from the cells of people who have recovered from attacks of Ebola, the expert said. However, the problem with this method is finding large numbers of people who have recovered from Ebola.
Dr Njie Hatib, the WHO representative in Kampala, confirmed to The EastAfrican that three out of nine suspected cases of Marbug fever had turned out positive in tests conducted in South Africa in September but the WHO team of seven scientists, will be focusing on how the recent outbreaks moved from their host to humans.
According to reports recently published in the UK-based Times Higher Education Supplement of London, delegates to the 16th Botanic Congress that sat in Missouri were told that a plant used widely in traditional African medicine may contain active compounds against Ebola. Mr Maurice Iwu, the executive director of the Biological Resources Development and Conservation Programme, says that an extract derived from the seeds of the Garcinia kola could inhibit Ebola at non-toxic concentrations.
The medium-sized tree is common in central Africa and its seeds are used as medicine throughout the region. Its extracts are marketed as dietary supplements in the US, according to the Times.
Extracts from Garcinia kola seeds were tested against several viral diseases and the active compound was found effective against a wide range of viruses including the influenza virus. In all cases, the active concentration was less than 10 times the known minimum toxic concentration, giving a wide window of opportunity for drug development according to experts.
Preparations for animal trials are underway but scientists urged caution saying the work was only preliminary.
"This compound has passed the first stage with flying colours, but there is still a long way to go. It may be impossible to develop it into an effective drug," warns Dr John Huggins of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infective Diseases.
Another anticipated problem is finance. Pharmaceutical companies may be reluctant to invest in the development of a cure against rare tropical diseases.
However, Mr Iwu says if animal trials proved successful and sufficient funding is secured, an investigational drug may be available for use in epidemic situations within two years.
The other hurdle developers will be trying to negotiate would be the affordability of any resulting medicine given the high levels of poverty in central Africa. Mr Iwu and his team are examining the possibility of producing effective but cheaper versions of the drug.
Uganda has been on the alert for Ebola since outbreaks were first reported in May. Ugandans in areas bordering the DRC have been instructed to take precautionary measures against Ebola. Two surveillance stations have been set up in the border areas of Arua and Nebbi.
Reported by Michael Wakabi and A. Mutumba-Lule
