Liberia said on Tuesday it would treat two infected doctors with the scarce experimental Ebola drug ZMapp, the first Africans to receive the treatment, while authorities in Spain said a 75-year-old priest had died of the disease, Reuters reports.

The death toll from the worst ever outbreak of the highly contagious disease has climbed to 1,013 since it was discovered in remote southeastern Guinea in March, according to the World Health Organisation.

It said ZMapp doses were very scarce, raising ethical questions of who should have priority.

Spanish authorities said a 75-year-old Spanish priest who contracted Ebola in Liberia had died. The government had announced on Sunday that Miguel Pajares, the first European infected by the strain, would also be treated with ZMapp manufactured by California-based Mapp Biopharmaceutical.

In addition to Pajares, ZMapp has already been administered to two US aid workers. The US citizens are now in a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, after being medically evacuated and have shown some signs of improvement.

The virus – one of the deadliest diseases known to man – has spread to four African countries, infecting a total 1,848 people, according to the WHO, which has branded the outbreak an international health emergency.

The epidemic in one of the world’s poorest regions, where crumbling healthcare systems are unable to cope, has opened an ethical debate on the use of trial drugs on humans. A WHO medical ethics committee was due to announce its findings on Tuesday, including on the sensitive issue of who should receive priority for the limited supplies of the drugs.


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The first two doses of an experimental serum created to treat Ebola went to American missionaries.
Then the drug was sent to treat a Spanish priest. The two Americans, Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, appear to be recovering. The priest, Miguel Pajares, died Tuesday morning. That’s the problem with experimental drugs that have never been clinically tested in humans: No one knows whether they’ll work — and if they do, in whom.

This week, the World Health Organization gathered a group of ethicists to decide whether proven medications and vaccines should be used in the current Ebola outbreak. As the death toll from the epidemic soared over 1,000, the WHO panel unanimously concluded that it is ethical to offer medications to fight the Ebola virus, even if their effectiveness or adverse effects are unknown.

“The large number of people affected by the 2014 west Africa outbreak, and the high case-fatality rate, have prompted calls to use investigational medical interventions to try to save the lives of patients and to curb the epidemic,” the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
WHO says it believes the virus has infected 1,848 people and killed 1,013, making this the deadliest Ebola outbreak in history.

The difference between this outbreak and other Ebola outbreaks is that traditional methods of stopping the virus from spreading — protective gear, contact tracing, etc. — don’t seem to be working fast enough, said Dr. Marie-Paule Kieny, WHO’s assistant director-general. The health care systems in the affected countries are also weak, so resources are scarce

“If these treatments can save lives, should we not use them to save lives?” Kieny said the panel asked.
Desperation has pushed Liberia’s government to ask for the experimental serum used to treat the Americans and Spanish priest, in order to treat two local doctors.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Liberia’s request for access to ZMapp, which was created by the San Diego-based biotech firm Mapp Biopharmaceutical Inc. Sample doses of the medicine will be sent to Liberia this week to treat doctors who have contracted the virus, the Liberian government said.

Mapp Biopharmaceutical said Monday that its supply has been exhausted after fulfilling the request of a West African country. (It did not name the country.) Kentucky BioProcessing, which manufactures a version of the drug, is working to increase production of ZMapp, but the process will take several months, company spokesman David Howard said last week.
“There are not adequate supplies of any of the investigational agents anywhere near ready for human use,” said Dr. Jesse Goodman, director of the Center on Medical Product Access, Safety and Stewardship at Georgetown University Medical Center, referring to all drugs being developed to treat Ebola.
“Not (adequate) to treat all the patients in this outbreak, even if we knew they worked.”


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Nigeria has recorded another death from the outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. This time it is a staff of the Lagos Liason office of the Economic Community of West African State - ECOWAS headquarters, Mr Jatto Abdulqudir. Confirming his death in a statement, ECOWAS management said the 36 year old man was among those who assisted the late Liberian Patrick Sawyerr when he came to Lagos for a regional meeting and was quarantined after Sawyerr died of the deadly disease. This brings to three the number of deaths from the deadly virus in Nigeria. The first two being Sawyerr and a Nigerian nurse.

Find the full text of the ECOWAS statement after the break...

"The ECOWAS Commission announces with deep regret the passing of a staff member of its Lagos Liaison Office, Mr. Jatto Asihu Abdulqudir, aged 36. Mr. Abdulqudir, a Protocol Assistant, was among those who assisted the Liberian delegate to a regional meeting Mr. Patrick Sawyer, who died from the Ebola Virus Disease at a Lagos hospital on 25th July 2014.

“Mr. Abdulqudir had been under quarantine following that sad incident.

“The Commission wishes to use this opportunity to express its gratitude to Nigerian government authorities and others who contributed to managing the late official while under quarantine. The Management of the Commission wishes to commiserate with Mr. Abdulqudir’s family and colleagues and prays for the repose of his soul.

"Before this sad event, the Commission working in collaboration with Nigerian health authorities, had disinfected all the facilities of the ECOWAS Lagos Liaison Office as part of precautionary measures to safeguard the health, safety and security of staff members, and will continue to monitor the situation.

“Management has also intensified awareness campaign among staff on the deadly virus and uses this opportunity to invoke the spirit of solidarity and mutual assistance.
“The Commission wishes to reassure staff of all Community Institutions all over the entire region that it is taking all necessary steps to guarantee their health and safety.

“Furthermore, Management enjoins all staff members and community citizens in general to intensify the observance of personal hygiene. They should also report any suspected case to health facilities and seek medical advice or attention for the effective containment and defeat of the Ebola disease.
“On the directive of regional leaders, ECOWAS has already set up a Solidarity Fund to fight the disease and has solicited the support   contribution of Member States and development partners to the Fund to rid the region of the virus.

“The ECOWAS Commission wishes to reiterate its continued commitment to support Member States in confronting this deadly virus.”

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