Faculty Bibliography

No treatment now exists for Ebola, and tests of a vaccine have just begun in humans. Though scientists have had earlier successes in treating Ebola in mice and guinea pigs with antivirals, these drugs did not work in nonhuman primates. In an interview this week in Dallas, Terry Fredeking, a co- author and an expeditionary biologist, said he supplied the raw material that was used to re-create a protein for the new drug. I won't say how long it took me to persuade Peter Jahrling that spit from hookworms might be able to treat monkeys with Ebola, said Fredeking, founder and president of Antibody Systems, a research company in Hurst, Texas. Fredeking said that the World Health Organization in Geneva had asked team members whether rNAPc2 might be used on an experimental basis to treat people in a current outbreak of Ebola in the Congo Republic north of that country's capital, Brazzaville. That outbreak, which is thought to be waning, has caused 28 deaths as of Dec. 2, according to the UN health agency

The World Health Organization has called on developing countries to train and organize 100,000 health care and nonprofessional workers to carry out its plan to begin delivering anti-retroviral drugs to three million AIDS patients by the end of 2005. The World Health Organization plans to hold a meeting at its Geneva headquarters in a few weeks to help countries deal with such questions. The agency's plan calls on the 34 countries with the highest infection rates to rapidly train workers to accelerate the integration of AIDS treatment into their health care programs. Many countries, medical schools, private groups and other organizations have started AIDS programs in heavily infected countries. The number of programs has reached the point where better coordination is needed to avoid duplication of research, training and treatment efforts, Dr. Peter Piot, director of the UN AIDS program, said in a recent interview

The U.N. agency said 6 million of the 40 million people infected with the AIDS virus are in immediate need of anti-retroviral treatment but that only about 480,000 are receiving it

The World Health Organization's 192 member nations were preparing Wednesday to grant it sweeping new powers to respond to international health threats like SARS and bioterrorist attacks. Under the resolution at the organization's annual meeting in Geneva, WHO would gain the power to set up an instant communication network, tap unofficial but reliable sources of information, and send its own teams to see if countries experiencing outbreaks are doing enough to prevent threats to other countries. Early in the SARS epidemic, WHO officials used publicity to pressure the Chinese government to allow teams to investigate the disease. Although the first cases of SARS were believed to have occurred in Guangdong Province in China last November, China initially and repeatedly rebuffed the international health agency's initial requests for teams of epidemiologists and infectious disease experts to visit Guangdong

Several patients in the American outbreak work for veterinarians or pet stores that sold prairie dogs and Gambian rats. No patients have died and four have been hospitalized. Laboratory tests performed at the diseases center in Atlanta on Sunday confirmed that the patients had been infected with the monkeypox virus, which belongs to the same Orthopox family that includes the viruses that cause smallpox and chickenpox. By quickly identifying the animals that can be infected with monkeypox, health officials hope to eliminate them before the disease becomes endemic in this country and in the Americas, [Stephen M. Ostroff] said. For this and other reasons, CDC advised people not to release live animals suspected of being infected with monkeypox into the wild. The agency also advised hospital workers caring for suspected monkeypox patients to follow standard infection control measures, including the gloves, gowns and N-95 masks that have been used to protect against SARS. The agency also advised veterinarians to take the same precautions in caring for sick prairie dogs, Gambian rats, other rodents and rabbits

A major concern is the viral disease's volatility. Severe acute respiratory syndrome first erupted in Guangdong Province in China last November. Since then, SARS has been reported in more than 30 countries with unequal force. The United States and most other affected countries have prevented imported cases from spreading to other people. But across the border, in Toronto, SARS has hit with devastating force. Initially, health officials feared the worst from SARS -- a global epidemic that could rival the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Now, many health officials say that scenario appears unlikely, that SARS may be behind us, and express confidence that SARS can be contained. Because SARS is transmitted mainly from person to person, the health agency is deeply concerned that epidemiologists have not determined the source of the virus in about half of new SARS cases in China. The health agency also wants to know what quarantine measures China is using and whether they are working better than elsewhere

Initially, health officials feared the worst from SARS - a global epidemic that could rival the 1918-19 influenza pandemic. Now, many health officials say that scenario appears unlikely and that SARS may be behind us. They express confidence that SARS can be contained. Much about SARS remains unknown. Among the questions are: How important are animals in its transmission? Is there a seasonal pattern to SARS? Will it return in stronger force next year? Because SARS is transmitted mainly from person to person, the health agency is deeply concerned that epidemiologists haven't determined the source of the virus in about half of new SARS cases in China

This unusual feature of SARS will require highly sensitive tests, and it will probably be several months before doctors will be able to use a single test to determine whether a person must be isolated because he or she has SARS. There could also be business obstacles to developing tests. The market for such tests could be small if SARS does not remain a serious health threat. If it is found that SARS can be transmitted through blood, the market would grow because blood donations would have to be screened. Dr. [William Bellini] of the Centers for Disease Control is among those seeking a test for SARS. (Linda Spillers for The New York Times)(pg. F1); Dr. [Malik Peiris], top, and Dr. [Anthony S. Fauci] spoke at a SARS meeting in Maryland on Friday. (Photographs by Linda Spillers for The New York Times)(pg. F6)

Health officials are also investigating the possibility of a second potential new outbreak of SARS among residents of Parry Sound, a small Ontario community, after a resident there developed SARS following a visit to an affected hospital in Toronto. About 70 Parry Sound residents are in quarantine while the ill patient, who is considered a possible SARS case, is now in a Toronto hospital. At the same time, health officials were investigating the possibility that the disease has affected a fifth hospital in the Toronto area since a new wave of illness was reported on May 22, suggesting that the potential for greater spread continued

Health authorities yesterday ordered the quarantining of up to 2,000 students, teachers and workers at a large parochial school on the outskirts of Toronto that was closed after an 11th- grade student attended classes for two days last week while showing symptoms of SARS. Health officials also are investigating the possibility of a second potential new outbreak of SARS among residents of the small Ontario community of Parry Sound after a resident there developed SARS following a visit to an affected hospital in Toronto. About 70 residents of Parry Sound are in quarantine while the ill patient, considered a possible SARS case, is in a Toronto hospital. 1 PIC; Nurses at North York General Hospital in Toronto walked through a new SARS assessment clinic outside the emergency room of the hospital. The illness has spread to other area hospitals through transfers of patients from North York.; Credit: Lucas Oleniuk / Associated Press