NEW YORK, August 8 (RIA Novosti) - Experimental new Ebola drugs have not been approved to be tested on humans, the research is in progress and these treatments should not be used in the deadly West African epidemic, a spokeswoman for the charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Sandra Murillo told RIA Novosti.
“The vaccines and treatments for Ebola currently being researched are not yet ready and none of them have been approved to be tested in humans. MSF is keen to contribute to research efforts that can save lives in this epidemic and others in the future,” Murillo said Thursday.
“To roll out an untested vaccine during a massive outbreak like this would be very difficult since there are currently not enough vaccines produced to carry out a proper trial. Also, a medical trial usually requires large number of extra medical staff and in the currently affected countries, human resources are extremely scarce.”
There is no licensed treatment or vaccine for the Ebola virus. Medics use rehydration fluid and antibiotics to fight infections. Some groups have called for new drugs to be rolled out in Africa after an infected US aid worker responded positively to an experimental treatment known as Zmapp.
More than 930 people have died in the worst Ebola outbreak in history and the first to have occurred in West Africa. It began in southern Guinea in February and spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Some cases have also been reported in Nigeria.
