Nigeria rejects Ebola drug with Kenyan link

A drug that is used in Kenya to manage HIV has been rejected by Nigerian authorities as a possible treatment for Ebola.

Nigeria’s Health Minister Onyebuchi Chukwu said the Nano Silver drug, which has now found its way into Liberia, was made available to the Emergency Operations Centre in Lagos last week, but did not meet basic research requirements.

Prof Chukwu told the Press that the experimental drug did not meet the requirements of the National Health Research Ethics Code and therefore will not be used.

Last week, Prof Chukwu had said Ebola-infected Nigerians would receive the drug.

The drug had been supplied to the Nigerian health authorities by Rima Laibow of the Natural Solutions Foundation based in the US.

The product is, however, readily available in the internet, claiming to treat various viral infections including HIV, hepatitis B, herpes simplex, respiratory virus, and monkey pox.

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It was introduced in Kenya in 2011 by Benir International (K) Limited as a supplement for boosting the immunity of people infected with HIV. 

According to the company’s Managing Director Joseph Mureithi, the product, which contains microscopic silver particles is a complementary medicine meant to act against a wide spectrum of fungi, viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms.

Concerned Citizens

“We are currently not stocking the product, but do import on demand,” said Mr Mureithi.

Earlier this week, Health Cabinet Secretary James Macharia told the Parliamentary Committee on Health he was not aware of the product.

Nano Silver is now reported to have reached Monrovia through a group called Concerned Citizens of Liberia chaired by a Nathaniel Blama, who is a senatorial candidate.

Mr Blama was on Monday quoted by FrontPagaAfrica newspaper of Monrovia as saying they have secured Nano Silver, which could treat patients infected with Ebola.

“Nano Silver, from our research, has shown it has the power to cure lots of illnesses and diseases, including the ability to deactivate the Ebola Virus,” the paper reported.

However, the US Food and Drug Administration says the drug is nothing more than a pesticide.

Ebola has killed more than 1,200 people since March in West Africa.

In an interesting development reported yesterday in a local newspaper, Kenyan businessman Joseph Enock Aura claimed in court that Americans have patented the Ebola virus identifiucation process, a vaccine and a cure.