US President Barack Obama said
Wednesday it was too soon to send experimental drugs for the treatment of Ebola
to West Africa, which has been hardest hit by the deadly outbreak.
Obama said affected countries should
instead focus on building a “strong public infrastructure,” adding: “I think we
have to let the science guide us. And I don’t think all the information is in
on whether this drug is helpful.”
The decision to use an experimental
drug to treat two Americans infected with Ebola, while nearly 1,000 Africans
have already died from the deadly epidemic, has sparked controversy.
Asked if, should the drug prove to
be effective, he would support fast-tracking its approval in the United States,
Obama replied: “I think it’s premature for me to say that because I don’t have
enough information. I don’t have enough data right now to offer an opinion on
that.”
Obama emphasized that Ebola, a
hemorrhagic virus that kills more than half of those infected, “is not an
airborne disease.
“This is one that can be controlled
and contained very effectively if we use the right protocols.”
But he said: “the countries affected
are the first to admit that what’s happened here is the public health systems
have been overwhelmed. They weren’t able to identify and then isolate cases
quickly enough.”
“As a consequence, it spread more
rapidly than has been typical with the periodic Ebola outbreaks that occurred
previously,” he added.
He said the United States is working
with European partners and the World Health Organization to provide resources
to help contain the epidemic.
“We’re focusing on the public health
approach right now, because we know how to do that, but I will continue to seek
information about what we’re learning with respect to these drugs going
forward.”
A total of 932 people have died
since March in Sierra Leone, Guinea, Liberia and Nigeria, with 1,711 confirmed
cases since the beginning of the year.
Ebola is spread through direct
contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person.
Symptoms include fever, muscle
aches, red eyes, diarrhea, vomiting and bleeding.
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