Ahead of the Infectious Diseases Curve

"I realized my dreams; now I feel I need to help younger scientists to realize their own dreams."
"This young man was saying [via an HIV documentary] he was going to die because he had loved. This was to me completely unacceptable. I thought, if I can help in any way, that is what I would do. This was one of my big dreams, to help one person."
"If you ask me, can I say now that ZMapp [inoculation against Ebola] works in humans? No, because of the mathematics. Can I say that I would take the treatment? Any day, I would take it. Do I think we have saved people? Yes."
"I don't need somebody to tell me. I realized my dream of helping at least one person. I was lucky enough that it was probably more than that."
"[Ongoing proactive work on Ebola and now Zika helps to] remodel our tools [in the battle against infectious diseases. This era is] equivalent to antibiotics. This is a new era of medicine and we are just seeing the first steps."
"I think it is a great image [being 'ahead of the curve']. But I have a very good friend in Senegal. He has been raising the red flag about Zika for two years. So maybe I just listen to people."
"I have my eyes set on other targets that I think are extremely important. But I don't want to scare people."
Dr. Gary Kobinger, chief, special pathogens, National Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg 

Gary Kobinger has made a major mark with his work with monoclonal antibodies. He told The Canadian Press he is leaving the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg next year to become director of the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases at Laval University in Quebec City. (CBC)

All eyes were on this scientist at a time when it seemed the Ebola crisis was truly going beyond threatening the three African countries it had struck with devastating force. When the World Health Organization made the final declaration that Ebola represented a public health emergency of international concern -- issuing updates as it monitored the situation in West Africa -- of a new strain of virus with an exceedingly high mortality rate.

Dr. Kobinger and his laboratory drew global interest because of  his work and that of his laboratory.

As one of the world's recognized elite Ebola researchers as well as chief at the Winnipeg laboratory, it was his team that was responsible for designing the first Ebola vaccine. He lead groundbreaking work on the Ebola drug ZMapp which, using antibodies, successfully fights the dread virus. The vaccine and the Ebola drug, considered still to be at the experimental stage, were used regardless, because of their efficacy in saving lives during the Ebola outbreak.

Now that a new infectious disease is drawing the world to attention with the Zika virus and its dread effect on newborns in Latin America, Dr. Kobinger is once again focused on a Zika-specific vaccine, just as other researchers are busy trying to find ways to destroy the Aedes aegyptus mosquito recognized as the vector that spreads Guillain-Barre syndrome leading to birth defects, as well as dengue, chikungunya and yellow fever.

The National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg has partnered with researchers in the United States to develop a Zika virus vaccine. (John Woods/Canadian Press)

ZMapp clinical trial results have been recently released. The drug would require a success rate in patients of 97.5 percent to meet efficacy criteria. ZMapp has demonstrated itself to be beneficial 91.2 percent of the time it is used for its specific purpose in Ebola response. ZMapp was given an official go-ahead for use as a result of the dire emergency that had presented itself with its rapid spread and high morbidity rate. Of 25 people who were given ZMapp who were in critical condition with Ebola, three died, and the remainder recovered.

Those then who on compassionate grounds became part of a clinical trial through desperation, mostly survived because of its use. Whether or not ZMapp or the Ebola vaccine will ultimately match licensing requirements, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has requested "extended access" to both, so that should another outbreak occur, they will be available for use. They represent a new field in fighting infectious diseases; the use of antibodies in the struggle against viruses.

Dr. Kobinger is now focusing on another vaccine whose purpose is protection against Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). He will, however, no longer be working at the Winnipeg laboratory, a Level 4 laboratory, come summer. That designation describes the most secure of laboratories where work proceeds safely on the most dangerous of pathogens.He is taking on a new position, director of the Centre for Research in Infectious Diseases at Laval University in Quebec City.

Quebec City is where the young Gary Kobinger grew up. "I see this [new position at Laval] as expanding the horizons, not restricting them. I have so many friends in the field of Level 4 (research) that I'm really hoping that I'll be able to keep collaborating with many of them."