Tobacco may be key to saving the lives of those stricken with Ebola.
The tobacco plants in question contain antibodies developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. and grown in Kentucky by Reynolds American Inc.
The treatment was given to the two American individuals who contracted Ebola while treating patients in Liberia.
The treatment contains proteins with monoclonal antibodies that bind and inactivate the Ebola virus.
Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, said that the drug, ZMapp, is not a proven treatment for Ebola. But he said it's an interesting example of using tobacco plants in medicine.
"We'd love to see tobacco used for health," Frieden said. "We don't have proven treatments of vaccines against Ebola... This Ebola outbreak is the biggest, worst, most complicated one that the world has ever seen."
Though ZMapp was not tested on humans, the companies had planned to begin the FDA approval process for the drug.
The question remains as to whether the drug could be administered to patients in Africa who are suffering from the disease and how long it would take.
"Two months," said Charles Arntzen, a collaborator with Mapp Biopharmaceutical. "Maybe they could do it in a month. If they were already planning on it, I'm sure they could produce 10,000 doses in a month."
Not everyone is as optimistic. Anthony Fauci, director of the NIH's National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told CNN that he didn't think it would be that quick.
"It is not easy to make this serum," he said. "The number of doses that are available right now, today... is less than a handful."
There is currently only one place approved to produce ZMapp by the US government--Kentucky BioProcessing.
"KBP is working closely with Mapp, various government agencies and other parties to increase production of ZMapp, but this process will take several months," said spokeswoman Maura Payne.
The Americans Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, who received the experimental serum, seem to be improving at the Emory University Hospital in Atlanta.
"Nancy is still very, very weak, but shows continued, but slowed improvement," according to a statement by SIM, the missionary group for which she works.
This strain of Ebola has had a 60 percent fatality rate. Brantly was flown to Emory on Saturday and Writebol was transported to the hospital on Tuesday.
In order to receive an experimental drug, the FDA must grant a "compassionate use" waiver for a patient. Though most requests are approved, it cannot force a company to provide the drug to a patient.
