First Ebola victim in Europe to be given American experimental drug
Doctors are preparing to treat Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, 75, with the pioneering drug ZMapp
The first person to be treated in Europe for Ebola is to be given an American experimental drug.
Spanish priest Miguel Pajares, 75, is in isolation in Madrid after being flown back from Liberia, in West Africa, on Thursday.
Doctors were yesterday given the go-ahead to treat him with ZMapp.
The drug has never been tested on humans but has already been used to treat US health workers Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol. They are both improving.
Supplies of ZMapp were flown from Geneva to Carlos III Hospital in Madrid, where Mr Pajares is being cared for around the clock.
EPIDEMIC
He was stable yesterday and not bleeding, which would be a sign the virus had reached an advanced stage.
His brother Emilio said: “We have scant news and are just waiting.”
President Barack Obama has said it is too soon to send the ZMapp drug to West Africa – and very few doses are available.
The Ebola epidemic in West Africa has killed nearly 1,000 people. Last week, the World Health Organisation declared the outbreak an international emergency.
* A British Ebola vaccine developed by GlaxoSmithKline will start clinical trials “later this year” following promising results from tests on chimpanzees, the company said yesterday.
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