Ebola, the ZMapp Serum, and the Changing Dr. Brantley Story

Ok, I'm really, really confused here...

First read:

Experimental drug likely saved Ebola patients

The ZMapp vials, stored at subzero temperatures, reached the hospital in Liberia where Brantly and Writebol were being treated Thursday morning. Doctors were instructed to allow the serum to thaw naturally without any additional heat. It was expected that it would be eight to 10 hours before the medicine could be given, according to a source familiar with the process.

Brantly asked that Writebol be given the first dose because he was younger and he thought he had a better chance of fighting it, and she agreed. However, as the first vial was still thawing, Brantly's condition took a sudden turn for the worse.

Brantly began to deteriorate and developed labored breathing. He told his doctors he thought he was dying, according to a source with firsthand knowledge of the situation.

Knowing his dose was still frozen, Brantly asked if he could have Writebol's now-thawed medication. It was brought to his room and administered through an IV. Within an hour of receiving the medication, Brantly's condition dramatically improved. He began breathing easier; the rash over his trunk faded away. One of his doctors described the events as "miraculous."

Compare with:

Only Enough for One: Experimental Ebola Serum Used on U.S. Patient

A dose of “experimental serum” arrived in Liberia to be tried on a U.S. charity worker struggling for her life — but there was only enough for one of the two infected workers, so Dr. Kent Brantly asked that it be used on his colleague, the group Samaritan’s Purse said Thursday.

Dr. Brantly, a doctor with the group who was also infected, tried an alternative treatment, using blood transfused from a young survivor of the virus.

“Yesterday, an experimental serum arrived in the country, but there was only enough for one person. Dr. Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol,” Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, said in a statement. “However, Dr. Brantly received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola because of Dr. Brantly’s care. The young boy and his family wanted to be able to help the doctor that saved his life.”

WTF????

Still confused.

These stories completely contradict each other.

Ya baby, round & round we go, where the hammer drops, nobody knows.

I believe that is part of the plan keep us confused and guessing..

They want you to think that they don't hav that much.

After all, they are in it for the money. With a miracle cure comes theexpectations that all infected should get the medicine, even if they can't pay.

Come on guys this is ATS, we all know it's about money, not charity.

That is why mainly the rich get the best breakthrough treatments.

Now they know it works, there is a "short supply". Unless you have the money of course.

I could understand minor details being wrong, but these are COMPLETELY different narratives.

I don't get it.

The first story reads like a promotion for this new experimental drug, to get everybody lined up to get it. The second story is more likely true.

Yeah this has been buggin me too...see two other threads.

From hero to just he first to get it. Initial stories had there being only one dose and he let her have it and took a transfusion of a recovered person's blood. And that was a convenient story I guess to get a specific reaction, but now that the word is out about the serum/drug/whatever doc said it was, the story's morphed to he gave her the one that thawed first (it was shipped frozen).

The ZMapp is not a vaccine but at first they called it "secret serum" that Samaritan's Purse could not or would not disclose the origin or makeup of.

Serum on its way to becoming a drug, cure, and/or vaccine. Who knows.

Then Des discovered it was grown (if that's the word) in tobacdo (GMO tobacco). So...lemme guess...bound by microcystins and produced by Monsanto/Tekmira in Ohio?

According to Mapp’s website, its ebola drug is a “cocktail” of monoclonal antibodies, which had been proven to work in monkey studies. I hope it works but hope harder that there is little to no market for it.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

(Yup. Changed to serum.)

WOW. This just blows my mind. Talk about a 180.

Thanks for the post. Good info.




ETA:

Just goes to show almost nothing we read can be trusted....EVER!

originally posted by: loam
...WTF????

...Still confused.

...These stories completely contradict each other.

This is the new norm, loam
...the new normal.
I can't recall a story within the last year, that wasn't chocked full of contradictions...among/between...all publications.

And now Des says he was quoted as asking her for HER dose because he thought he was closer to dying or something?

Just wow.

Is it even possible to notice the effects of those injected anti-bodies? 1 hour?

More than likely just sensationalist reporting. Accuracy of the reporting isn't nearly as important as being the first to get the story out.

a reply to: ~Lucidity

Yes.

Read both articles posted above. The FACTS are completely different.

a reply to: WanDash

Except the primary SOURCES for these stories is Samaritans and the CDC. The contradictions come from THEM.

THEY said one thing.....and then another completely different thing.

The "hero" narrative played an important parted in limiting the public outcry and push back about flying him back to the states. If you recall the director at Emory who was asked by Sanjay Gupta - "Why?" (treat them back in the states) - replied that these are heroes/humanitarians on the front lines of fighting this disease and deserve our support.

In other words, shaming people who were questioning the prudence of the decision.

a reply to: kosmicjack

originally posted by: kosmicjack
In other words, shaming people who were questioning the prudence of the decision.

I've certainly seen examples of that.

Mind still blown....

a reply to: loam

How about the third option...they're both true..

Both Dr. Brantly and Writebol received a dose of an experimental serum while still in Liberia. Dr. Brantly also received a unit of blood from a 14-year-old boy who had survived Ebola under his care.

www.samaritanspurse.org...

At the time there was only 1 dose available, as the other one hadn't thawed yet.

just tossing more info i found out about this whole serum thing. I decided to look up the stock market prices for Tekmira and Biocryst.

Biocryst has a wiki page at this link along with info on a 22 million dollar govt contract on RNA research
Biocryst LINK

But while searching for Tekmira pharmaceuticals i stumbled upon this story from CNBC.
Tekmira LINK

In that story it mentions that the serum that was used in this successful ebola treatment was created by a privately funded biotech firm called Mapp Biopharmaceutical. Don't know what someone else could dig up but i thought I'd toss this into the arena of ideas to follow this stuff.

a reply to: kosmicjack
Exactamundo.

And at first too the only reason given was "they wanted to come home" so Samaritan's Purse hired a plane, talked Emory into agreeing to take them, and entirely funded bringing them home.

a reply to: AlphaHawk

Because that is not what they said:

“Yesterday, an experimental serum arrived in the country, but there was only enough for one person. Dr. Brantly asked that it be given to Nancy Writebol,” Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, said in a statement.

The new story now says not only were there enough for both, but that Brantly asked for the first dose after he felt like he was going to die.

a reply to: loam

What exactly is so hard to understand?

Reports and stories almost always conflict in a hot topic like this, it's because news outlets are trying to beat each other with the latest story, so they report almost anything they hear. The last story is usually the correct one, not the first.

This happens so much and in so many cases, I don't understand how people can be confused about this anymore.