Go to contents

Use of experimental Ebola drugs approved but supply runs out

Use of experimental Ebola drugs approved but supply runs out

Posted August. 14, 2014 03:20,   

한국어

Following the supply of ZMapp, the experimental drug to help treat patients infected with the Ebola virus, to West Africa, Canada says it will donate another experimental vaccine developed in its government lab.

According to international news agency Reuters on Wednesday, Canadian Health Minister Rona Ambrose said that the Canadian government would donate between 800 to 1,000 doses of the vaccine to the World Health Organization (WHO) for use in the Ebola-stricken West Africa. The Canadian vaccine, developed by the National Microbiology Laboratory under the Public Health Agency, proven effective in animals but has never been tested in humans.

The donation decision came after the WHO approved the use of untested Ebola drugs and on patients infected with Ebola. However, Marie Paule Kieny, a WHO assistant director-general, said that no vaccine "is available in unlimited supplies right now. I don’t think that there could be any fair distribution of something which is available in such a small quantity."

Mapp Biopharmaceutical, the developer of ZMapp, said Monday that it had sent all of its ZMapp inventory to West Africa for free and had run out of its supply. According to the WHO, there were 12 doses of ZMapp.