WASHINGTON, October 24, (RIA Novosti) – The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) mismanaged its program to handle the current Ebola outbreak, the Department's Inspector General told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Friday.
"In short, we concluded that DHS mismanaged their program," John Roth said.
Roth listed the mistakes DHS made that had hindered his department's response to the current Ebola outbreak, including DHS not adequately conducting a needs assessment when it purchased anti-viral drugs and the mismanagement of the drugs and equipment that were purchased.
"As a result, DHS may have too much of some equipment and too little of others," said Roth.
Due to the department's mismanagement of materials, the shelf life on many of the drugs and supplies has expired and they are now unusable. Roth added that a lot of supplies had also gone missing and the drugs that the department had deemed to be destroyed had been found.
According to the most recent report by the World Health Organization (WHO), the current Ebola outbreak has claimed the lives of more than 4,800 people, with more than 9,900 confirmed, probable and suspected infection cases. There is no officially approved cure for the disease, but several countries are currently working on developing Ebola vaccines, with Russia planning to introduce three vaccines within the next six months.
