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Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Ebola: FG requests for U.S 'experimental drug"/Antidote



To check the spread of Ebola virus in Nigeria, the Federal Government has requested for the experimental drug, Zmapp, used in the treatment of  Ebola virus by the United States Centre for Disease Control.
This was disclosed to State House correspondents by the Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu, at the end of the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting presided by Vice President, Namadi Sambo. 
He maintained that those using the drugs are improving and responding to treatment.

He said:
 “This morning I sent an email to the Director of the U.S Centre for Disease Control. We have been in communication in the last 36 hours. We are getting reports that the experimental drug seems to be useful. Is it also possible that we can have access for our own people who are presently being treated under isolation?
“We are making efforts, we are relating with them and we are doing everything possible that will ensure that we contain this disease” he said.
The government, he said, is still awaiting the response on the request it made last night to the center in U.S.
He warned that the potency of the experimental drug cannot be totally relied upon as not much is known about it.
“It is experimental in the sense that we don’t know much about it. We don’t even know whether it will eventually be able to provide cure. The reason is that the people who got it are responding well,” he added.
Continuing, he said: 
“Let’s even know whether they have enough quantity, because it hasn’t been produced on commercial basis. What is important is that we have requested and I think that is what is important than any other thing.”
Speaking on efforts to contain the disease, he said the government has concluded plans to purchase isolation tents which costs about N20 million each.

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