First Newborn Baby to Receive Experimental Therapies Survives Ebola Virus Disease

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Jenny Dornemann, Médecins Sans Frontières; Chiara Burzio, Médecins Sans Frontières; Axelle Ronsse, Médecins Sans Frontières; Armand Sprecher, Médecins Sans Frontières; Hilde De Clerck, Médecins Sans Frontières; Michel Van Herp, Médecins Sans Frontières; Marie-Claire Kolie, Médecins Sans Frontières; Vesselina Yosifiva, Médecins Sans Frontières; Severine Caluwaerts, Médecins Sans Frontières; Anita Katherine McElroy, Emory University; Annick Antierens, Médecins Sans Frontières
• Language: English
• Date: 2017-01-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiw493
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: Journal of Infectious Diseases
• ISSN: 0022-1899
• Volume: 215
• Issue: 2
• Start Page: 171
• End Page: 174
• Keywords: Microbiology; Immunology; Infectious Diseases; Ebola; ZMapp; Science & Technology; IMMUNITY; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; GS-5734
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, General

Abstract

A neonate born to an Ebola virus-positive woman was diagnosed with Ebola virus infection on her first day of life. The patient was treated with monoclonal antibodies (ZMapp), a buffy coat transfusion from an Ebola survivor, and the broad-spectrum antiviral GS-5734. On day 20, a venous blood specimen tested negative for Ebola virus by quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. The patient was discharged in good health on day 33 of life. Further follow-up consultations showed age-appropriate weight gain and neurodevelopment at the age of 12 months. This patient is the first neonate documented to have survived congenital infection with Ebola virus.