WHO Virtual Press Conference following a consultation of international experts on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines
Africa September 3, 2014
GENEVA, Switzerland, September 3, 2014/African Press Organization (APO)/ — WHO Virtual Press Conference following a consultation of international experts on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines
WHAT: Consultation on potential Ebola therapies and vaccines
On 4-5 September, the World Health Organization (WHO) will bring together key experts to discuss experimental therapies and vaccines with potential to treat or prevent Ebola virus disease.
Participants at the Geneva meeting will include technical experts from companies and organizations developing Ebola interventions and policymakers from Ebola-affected countries, ethicists, clinicians, researchers, regulators, and patient representatives.
A range of interventions, which include blood products, immune therapies, drugs and vaccines, are under different stages of development. None have yet been licensed for clinical use.
The purpose of this meeting is to:
• Review and evaluate the current state of development of interventions for Ebola virus disease (therapies and vaccines)
• Agree the overall objectives for a plan for evaluation and use of potential interventions,
• Identify and identify the most important actions that need to be taken
• Establish what support is required
In early August, an expert panel convened by WHO concluded that, in the particular circumstances of the current outbreak, and provided certain conditions are met, it is ethical to offer unproven interventions as potential treatments or for prevention of infection.
Information about the meeting, including the agenda, can be found at:
http://who.int/mediacentre/events/meetings/2014/ebola-interventions/en/
WHEN: The conclusions of the consultation will be announced during a Virtual Press Conference on Friday, 5 September, at 18:00 CEST.
WHERE: Journalists outside Geneva may dial in. Geneva-based journalists are invited to participate in person in the WHO Library Room, WHO Headquarters
Speaker: Dr Marie Paule Kieny, Assistant Director- General, WHO
Others ( TBC)
Source: AFRICAWIN
