Use Ebola survivors’ blood – WHO








Bag of blood Blood from people who had Ebola could be used as a treatment

The blood of patients who recover from Ebola should be used to treat others, the World Health Organization has announced.

West Africa is facing the largest Ebola outbreak in history and more than 1,900 people have died.

A global group of experts have been meeting to assess the experimental therapies that could contain Ebola.

The WHO also announced that Ebola vaccines could be used on the frontline by November.

Dr Marie Paule Kieny, an assistant director general at WHO said: “We agreed that whole blood therapies may be used to treat Ebola virus and all efforts must be invested to help infected countries to use them.

“There is a real opportunity that a blood derived product can be used now and this can be very effective in terms of treating patients.”

She said that it was the one positive point from so many people being infected.

“There are also many people now who have survived and are doing well, they can provide blood to treat the other people who are sick.”