• Question: When do you think we'll have a cure for Ebola?

    Asked by Isaac to Ceri, Marikka, Matt, Rob, Sally on 10 Nov 2014.
    • Photo: Ceri Dare

      Ceri Dare answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      Well, at the moment we have ways to treat Ebola – by giving people lots of fluids to replace any that are lost by bleeding, and using antibiotics to treat infections people get on top of Ebola, and painkillers to make people more comfortable. Sadly, these are not always available, especially in poorer countries.

      Better than a cure would be an immunisation to stop people getting Ebola in the first place. Lots of scientists are working hard on that at the moment. So an immunisation could be ready in maybe a year or so, but it’s hard to be certain.

    • Photo: Sally Cutler

      Sally Cutler answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      Hi Issac, I guess the answer here is not soon enough! Sometimes prevention is better than cure and for an infection like Ebola I think this is the best approach. Cure would be a challenge as by the time you have symptoms, a huge amount of damage has already been done to your body. Early detection is also a challenge as the clinical signs are very non-specific during early disease (sore throat etc). There are some vaccines to prevent infection under study, but not yet fully tested for safety and efficacy. Then who should you vaccinate? Also who will pay for this? Many of the outbreaks with Ebola (and yes this is not the first, it happens in Africa almost every year since the virus was discovered in 1976) are associated with people wanting to eat bush meat such as primates! Maybe behaviour change would be an option too?

    • Photo: Robert Hampson

      Robert Hampson answered on 10 Nov 2014:

      The reality is that 70% of the people who catch Ebola currently are dying (according to the World Health Organisation).

      The current Ebola crisis is not situated in what would be considered the Ebola heartland. In many areas where Ebola is normally a problem, the populace know about it and have many behaviours and responses which prevent its spread. This is also why it is not considered too much of a risk to western countries like the UK. There are many advanced control mechanisms run by the government to control potentially pandemic infections. This is much much easier than trying to invent a cure.

      I don’t think that scientists can work quickly enough to develop a cure which would control the current Ebola outbreak. Public education, and public health strategies are probably a much better place to spend money combating Ebola.

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