GONGNEWS: Ebola Antidote Ebola: ‘Orogbo’ offers hope of cure – BBC Report By Ramatu Abdulmuminu with Agency Reports It is found everywhere in Nigeria. The Yorubas call it ‘Orogbo’ and the Hausas call it “mijin goro.” The botanical name for it is ‘Garcinia kola.’ This plant has been found to halt the deadly Ebola virus in its tracks in laboratory tests, scientists have said. They used a compound from Garcinia kola, a plant commonly eaten in West Africa. Compounds from the plant have also proved effective against some strains of flu. If the anti-Ebola compound proves successful in animal and human trials, it will be the first medicine to successfully treat the virus that causes Ebola haemorrhagic fever – an often- fatal condition. The discovery was announced at the 16th International Botanical Congress in St Louis in the US. Four deaths per five cases: The Ebola virus was first documented in 1976 after an outbreak in Zaire – now the Democratic Republic of the Congo – where 88% of the 318 human cases died. More recently, a 1995 outbreak in the same country had a death rate of 81% of the 315 people infected. There are four types of the virus – Ebola-Zaire, Ebola-Sudan and Ebola-Ivory Coast all affect humans, while Ebola-Reston has so far only affected monkeys and chimpanzees. However, doctors have been unable to stop the virus once infection has taken hold – hence the disease has gained a terrifying reputation. Traditional origins: Former Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Dr Maurice Iwu, a pharmacist was reputed to have set up and heads the Bioresources Development and Conservation Programme. They led the research.
Posted on: Fri, 01 Aug 2014 09:03:50 +0000
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