Effect of Artesunate–Amodiaquine on Mortality Related to Ebola Virus Disease

A shortage of artemether–lumefantrine at the Ebola treatment center in Liberia led to the use of artesunate–amodiaquine for malaria treatment during a 12-day period. In this setting, artesunate–amodiaquine use was associated with a 31% lower risk of death from Ebola. The outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD) in West Africa has led to more than 28,000 cases and has claimed more than 11,000 lives since the outbreak was first declared in March 2014, with most of the burden of disease observed in Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. 1 Few treatment practices or therapeutics are known to significantly reduce the risk of death. Recent in vitro assessments of drugs that have been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for anti-EVD activity have identified a number of candidates among compounds that are used to treat other diseases, including malaria. 2 However, little . . .