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serum
There may be a cure for Ebola "within weeks"
The serum will use the blood of people who recovered from the disease.
THE WORLD HEALTH Organisation says that there may be a serum for the Ebola virus available “within weeks”.
Speaking in Geneva, Dr Marie Paule Kieny of the WHO said that a vaccine was being prepared and could be ready by January.
The serum would use the blood of people who have survived the disease, which contains antibodies which would attack the virus.
“There are partnerships which are starting to be put in place to have capacity in the three countries to safely extract plasma and make preparation that can be used for the treatment of infective patients.
“The partnership which is moving the quickest will be in Liberia where we hope that in the coming weeks there will be facilities set up to collect the blood, treat the blood and be able to process it for use.”
However, it is not known how much of the serum would be made and if that would be enough to meet demand in Africa, where 4,500 people have been killed.
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