MOSCOW, August 15 (RIA Novosti) – A Nigerian scientist has developed an experimental drug for treating the Ebola virus disease, NAN news agency reported citing Minister for Health Onyebuchi Chukwu.
Chukwu told a news conference that the drug is called Nanosilver and it would be used to treat the eight Nigerians who have tested positive for Ebola.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that it is ethical to use experimental drugs to treat patients infected with the deadly Ebola virus.
The West African outbreak of the Ebola virus disease, which has no known cure, was declared an international public health emergency by the UN a week ago.
According to the WHO, the current Ebola outbreak has already claimed 1,069 lives in the West Africa countries. A total of 1,975 cases have been confirmed.
The worst Ebola outbreak in history started in February in Guinea and then spread to Nigeria, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Ebola hemorrhagic fever has a fatality rate of nearly 90 percent. The Ebola virus is transmitted through direct contact with the blood or bodily fluids of the infected. Symptoms of the disease include sudden onset of fever, weakness, muscle pain, headache and sore throat followed by vomiting, diarrhea, rash, kidney and liver problems, and in some cases, both internal and external bleeding.