Experimental drug ‘not S’pore’s main treatment for Ebola’

SINGAPORE — ZMapp, the experimental drug widely touted as a promising treatment for Ebola, has shown mixed results and is not Singapore’s main type of treatment for the disease, said Minister of State (Health) Lam Pin Min.

Noting that there are as yet “no proven” anti-viral drug treatments or vaccines for the disease, Dr Lam pointed out that while two American health workers recovered after being the first to be administered ZMapp in July, a Spanish priest and one Liberian healthcare worker who also had the drug did not survive.

The main treatment for Ebola here is still intensive supportive treatment, he added, when asked if the Government will stock up on the drug.

Dr Lam also said ZMapp’s manufacturer has said there is a shortage of the drug, and that the Government will “continue to monitor the research that has been going on in ZMapp and we’ll use it when appropriate”.

Yesterday, Dr Lam also stressed that the Health Ministry assesses that the risk of Ebola being imported into Singapore remains small, especially as the already low number of travellers from affected countries has dipped even further following the World Health Organization’s declaration of the outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.

Prior to the outbreak, about 30 people from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone travelled here monthly. After the declaration, many airlines stopped flights to these destinations, further reducing the number of travellers from the three countries, said Dr Lam.

Nevertheless, the Government will not rule out the possibility of an imported case of Ebola and has put in place measures to prevent the spread of and encourage early detection of the disease should the infection hit the Republic, he said.