15 August 2014

Canada sends experimental vaccine after WHO-convened ethics panel endorses use of experimental drugs in fight against Ebola outbreak

On 8 August, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) declared the current Ebola outbreak in West Africa an international public health emergency, saying: ‘our collective health security’ depends on urgent support for containment in the affected countries. WHO Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan declared ‘the current outbreak of the Ebola a public health emergency of international concern’. Although the disease is only affecting a small part of the African continent, there is ‘a clear call for international solidarity’ to boost the capacity of the countries currently affected. According to the WHO, between 10 and 11 August, 128 new cases of Ebola virus disease, as well as 56 deaths, were reported from Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, and Sierra Leone, bringing the total number of cases to 1,975 and deaths to 1,069. (more…)

Source: AlJazeera| Canada sends trial Ebola vaccine to W Africa
Source: UN News Centre | UN declares Ebola outbreak global ‘international public health emergency’
Source: UN News Centre | Ebola: UN health agency says more than 1 million people affected by outbreak
Source: UN News Centre | Ebola: WHO-convened ethics panel endorses use of experimental drugs