a made-in-Canada experimental Ebola virus vaccine known as VSV-EBOV
which has never been tested on humans but has shown to be effective in
the treatment of the disease in animals.
In a statement released yesterday August 12th, the Canadian Health
Minister Rona Ambrose said the World Health Organization's Director
general, Margaret Chan, has approved of the donation.
The Minister also revealed that Canada will be donating $185,000 to
the World Health Organization for the prevention and control of the
deadly virus in Africa.
Canada has only 1500 of the experimental vaccine and would be sending
1000 of it to Africa. Continue...
"I was pleased to offer the experimental vaccine developed by Canadian
researchers as a global resource to help fight this outbreak," she
said, adding that between 800 and 1,000 doses would be donated to the
WHO.
The Minister in the statement added that "Canada feels this
experimental vaccine is a global resource, so in response we are
sharing it with the international community, while keeping a small
supply in Canada."
The news comes hours after the World Health Organization said a panel
of experts advised thatit would be ethical to use untested drugs and
vaccinesin this raging epidemic, which is several times larger than
any previous outbreak.
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