Ebola Treatment Serum Nearly Ready

A blood serum to be given as treatment for Ebola may be ready for patients in as little as a few weeks. Talks with the WHO in Geneva about the current Ebola outbreak have discussed new drugs and vaccines, as well as the serum treatment, which could be distributed in Liberia in the next few weeks.
In order to clear Ebola infection, the immune system produces proteins known as antibodies that locate and destroy cells infected with the virus. People that have recovered from Ebola have these antibodies in their blood. The antibodies can be extracted from the blood to make a serum for injection into Ebola victims who do not posses the antibodies, helping them fight the infection. A Spanish nurse, the first person to contract Ebola outside of West Africa during this epidemic was treated with similar serum and has now recovered.
However, it is not easy to safely and effectively take a blood sample and extract the antibodies. Partnership between WHO and health care centres in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea is essential to make sure this process can be carried out on location. There are also some concerns that using a blood serum could help transmit blood borne diseases like hepatitis and HIV, making it important for blood donors to be screened and for the treatment to be given in sterile conditions.
This serum is expected to be distributed to patients very soon, but it is not known if there will be enough serum to meet demand since 10,000 people have now been infected with Ebola. The next step in controlling the outbreak will be drugs and vaccines, which are unlikely to be in distribution before next year.