The Partnership for Research on Ebola Virus in Liberia (PREVAIL) IV treatment trial recently launched in Liberia, testing a treatment for men who survived Ebola but still have the genetic material (RNA) of the virus in their semen.
The trial will last for a total of six months. The scientists hope to enroll between 60 and 120 men who have survived the Ebola virus but continue to have Ebola RNA in their semen.
The double-blind trial requires that participants receive a placebo or an investigational drug (GS-5734) from Gilead Sciences.
“We know that traces of Ebola virus can sometimes remain in a recovered person’s body and can initiate a new bout of illness in the survivor or be passed onto others, which could start a new chain of infection in the community,” NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said. “The goal of the PREVAIL IV trial is to see if the experimental drug can eliminate the traces of Ebola virus from semen in men who have survived Ebola infection. It is anticipated that this would decrease the risk of passing the virus to their sexual partners. If so, the drug would be another weapon in our arsenal against Ebola virus disease.”
The trial is part of a Clinical Research Partnership between the U.S. and Liberia. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), a branch of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Ministry of Health of Liberia have collaborated with Gilead Sciences, a pharmaceutical company.
