WHO Approves Use Of Experimental Ebola Vaccine

This is after a panel of experts unanimously concluded in a meeting organized by WHO that it is ethical to offer medication on Ebola patients.

“The large number of people affected by the 2014 West Africa outbreak, and the high case-fatality rate, have prompted calls to use investigational medical interventions to try to save the lives of patients and to curb the epidemic,” said the World Health Organisation.

However, the only challenge the experts say is that supplies of both the vaccine, and experimental drug Zmapp, are limited and it could take months to develop more supplies.

The World Health Organization will receive between 800 and 1,000 doses of the vaccine from Canada which has only been tested on animals, to be donated for use in West Africa.

The deputy Head of Canada's Public Health Agency, Dr Gregory Taylor said he had been advised that it was ethical for health care workers to be given the vaccine, given their increased risk of contracting the disease.

Liberia which has been the most hit says it has made request to the US government and is expecting to get an experimental drug, Zmapp.

The Zmapp vaccine has been used on two US aid workers who have shown signs of improvement, although it is not certain what role the medication played in this.

Despite efforts to get a drug to fight the virus, only one drug, TKM-Ebola has safely started to be tested in humans.

The drug works in a way which interrupts the genetic code of the virus and prevents it from making disease causing proteins.

American medicines regulator has asked for further safety information but according to the manufacturer, human studies may soon resume.

The current Ebola outbreak in West Africa was last week declared a global health emergency by WHO.

Latest reports by WHO have also revealed that the virus has infected 1,848 people and killed 1,013, making this the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

By Morgan Mueke

Source BBC