The Belgian doctor who co-discovered the Ebola virus in 1976 in the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo called Thursday for experimental treatment given to two US aid workers to be made available to African patients, dpa reported. In an interview with France's Le Monde newspaper, Peter Piot, director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medecine, acknowledged there were ethical concerns about giving patients unproven medication. "But what do you do if a colleague is infected? Don't the potential benefits of treatment faced with a disease that kills more than one in two people justify trying experimental treatment?" he argued. West Africa is in the throes of the deadliest outbreak of Ebola on record. According to the latest figures from the World Health Organization, from August 4, 932 people have died in Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Nigeria. Given the absence of a vaccine or a proven treatment, Ebola awareness campaigns have so far focused on prevention. "Prevention is essential but you have to act to prevent those infected from dying," Piot, who previously headed the UN programme on HIV/AIDS, said. Two US aid workers who were evacuated from Liberia after contracting Ebola were treated with ZMapp, a experimental US drug made from a mix of monoclonal antibodies that has yet to be licensed for use. -- SPA 21:51 LOCAL TIME 18:51 GMT تغريد
