Untested Drugs Can Be Used ToTreat Patients Infected With The Ebola Virus-WHO

Untested drugs can be used to treat patients infected with the Ebola virus, the World Health Organization says.

The WHO said it was ethical in light of the scale of the outbreak and high number of deaths - over 1,000 people have died in west Africa..
The statement was made after its medical experts met in Switzerland on Monday to discuss the issue.
The move came as Liberia said it was getting an experimental drug, Zmapp, after requests to the US government.
The WHO said where experimental treatments are used there must be informed consent and the results of the treatment collected and shared.
In a statement, it said: "In the particular circumstances of this outbreak, and provided certain conditions are met, the panel reached consensus that it is ethical to offer unproven interventions with as yet unknown efficacy and adverse effects, as potential treatment or prevention."
Last week the WHO declared the Ebola outbreak was a global health emergency.
What drugs exist currently ?
There a handful of drugs that have been shown to work well in animals.
One is Zmapp - the drug requested by the Liberian government. This contains a cocktail of antibodies which attack proteins on the surface of the virus.
Only one experimental drug has moved into early human testing. Known as TKM-Ebola this interrupts the genetic code of the virus and prevents it from making disease causing proteins.
The drug was tested on healthy human volunteers at the beginning of 2014 but the American medicines regulator asked for further safety information. The drug company says human trials may soon resume.
Vaccines to protect against acquiring the disease have also been shown to work in primates. American authorities are considering fast-tracking their development and say they could be in use in 2016.
But experts say ultimately the only way to be sure a drug or vaccine is effective is to see if it works in countries affected by Ebola.

There is no cure for Ebola, which has infected at least 1,779 people since the outbreak was first reported in Guinea in February.
'Hard place' The Liberian government said it was aware of the risks associated with Zmapp, but the alternative was to allow many more people to die.
"The alternative for not testing this is death, a certain death," Information Minister Lewis Brown told the BBC.
"This is not even the rock and the hard place for us.
"We think those who have been infected should be given the chance to have that tested on them if they give their consent to do so.
"We know there may be risks associated with it," the minister added, "but choosing a risk and choosing dying I am sure many would prefer to see that risk happen".
Ebola's initial flu-like symptoms can lead to external haemorrhaging from areas like eyes and gums, and internal bleeding which can lead to organ failure. Patients have a better chance of survival if they receive early Treatment.
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