Based on promising data from initial clinical trials in late 2014, WHO with the Health Ministry of Guinea, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Epicentre and The Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), will launch a Phase III trial in Guinea on 7 March to | WPN World People News

The Ebola outbreak wreaking havoc in a number of West African countries since last year has been the most lethal one since the disease was discovered in 1976. On 4 March, the EP’s Science and Technology Options Assessment (STOA) unit organised a hearing with experts to talk about how Ebola should be tackled, the need for research and what lessons should be drawn from the current crisis.

During the meeting MEPs criticised the lack of response to the initial outbreak. Charles Goerens, a Luxembourg member of the Alde group, said: "The attitude of the international community iscomparable to the attitude toward the economic crisis: too little too late. We really need to learn our lessons." Vicky Ford, a UK member of the ECR group, added that the EU also took too much time to realise the severity of the situation: "The Ebola crisis is really forcing us to rethink how we should react to situations like this."

However, Paul Rübig, an Austrian member of the EPP group who chaired the meeting, said he hoped things would now be improving: "We have invested €1.2 billion in this crisis. We hope that with this investment we will be better prepared for the future."

Roberto Bertollini, of the World Health Organization, said there were sufficient financial resources available to ensure the first round of vaccubation once a vaccine becomes available. Other experts stressed the importance of tests to quickly diagnose Ebola or draw attention to how Ebola was affecting the patient's relatives. Laurence Sailly, of Médecins Sans Frontières, said the family often suffered from a stigma surrounding the disease due to the fear of contamination.

Source: European Parliament