Tuesday 12 August 2014 16.08 A panel of medical ethics experts from the World Health Organisation has ruled that it is ethical to offer unproven drugs or vaccines as potential treatments or preventions for the Ebola virus.
"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," the UN's health agency said in a statement.
WHO released death toll figures last night, calling the outbreak of the virus a global public health emergency.
To date, 1,013 have died from Ebola and another 1,848 are infected.
The fatalities include 52 deaths recorded between 7 and 9 August in the four West African countries at the centre of the epidemic - Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.
Medical experts from around the world took part in WHO-hosted discussions yesterday to draft guidelines for using non-authorised medicines in emergencies such as Ebola.
"Ethical criteria must guide the provision of such interventions," the panel found, stressing the need for "transparency about all aspects of care ... respect for the person, preservation of dignity and involvement of the community".
Commenting on the ruling of the WHO panel Professor Jonathan Ball, from the University of Nottingham, said the expert's findings did not come as a "huge surprise".
But he warned that using experimental therapies was not without risks, including that of generating "mistrust" among African countries.
"You certainly cannot say definitively that something which works and is safe in animals will work and be safe in humans; I think there is a risk," he said.
"However, when you weigh that against the fact that there is 60% chance that you will die of Ebola infection, you can understand how they reached the decision."
Meanwhile, the Liberian presidency has said US authorities have approved a request from Liberia's government to send sample doses of the experimental ZMapp drug to treat Liberian doctors infected with Ebola.
It said the drug would be delivered this week by a US government representative.
However, a representative for the US Health and Human Services (HHS) Department said US authorities had simply assisted in connecting the Liberian government with the drug's manufacturer.
"Since the drug was shipped for use outside the US, appropriate export procedures had to be followed," the HHS representative said, adding the drug company had worked directly with the Liberian government.
Priest dies in Madrid hospital from Ebola virus
An elderly Spanish priest who was being treated for the virus with ZMapp died in a hospital in Madrid, five days after being evacuated from Liberia.
The 75-year-old Catholic priest, Miguel Pajares, was being treated in Spain after being flown to Madrid on 7 August.
He contracted the virus at the Saint Joseph Hospital in the Liberian capital Monrovia where he worked.
Two Americans also being treated with ZMapp are reportedly showing signs of improvement.
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