MOSCOW, October 18 (RIA Novosti) - Germany's federal government is set to develop specially equipped aircraft that will be suitable for transporting critically ill Ebola patients, a German daily newspaper reported Saturday.
The German government has signed a contract with the Lufthansa airline on the development of special aircraft for Ebola patients, which are to be made available by mid-November, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported citing government sources.
There are currently only two aircraft equipped for transport of critically ill Ebola patients in the world, both Gulfstream G-III jets belonging to the US-based Phoenix Air company, the newspaper wrote. Neither Germany nor any other European country has planes specially equipped to transport infectious Ebola patients.
The largest Ebola outbreak in history is currently taking place in West Africa. Over 4,500 people have lost their lives in the epidemic and nearly 9,200 cases of confirmed or suspected infection have been registered.
Ebola is transmitted through direct contact with the bodily fluids of those infected and there is no officially approved medication for the disease, though several countries are currently working on vaccines.
