Doctors working in Liberia are pinning a lot of hope on the experimental treatment they are currently applying to patients with Ebola virus. They hope that this serum, made from blood cells of recovered patients, can help fight the virus that has swept through West Africa and killed more than 6,800 people.
Patients who have successfully fought Ebola infection have antibodies in their blood that can attack the virus. Doctors can then take a sample of their blood and turn it into serum (they just remove the red blood cells while keeping the important antibodies) which will be used to treat other patients.
A large number of health workers in Liberia have been trained to administer this new treatment while scientific teams continue to explore other types of treatment and vaccines in the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
No end of year celebrations in Sierra Leone
For its part, Sierra Leone, where more than 1,600 people have succumbed to the virus, has decided to cancel the Christmas and New Year festivities to fight against the spread of Ebola. The country has less than a third of Christians, but Christmas and New Year generally give rise to festive popular gatherings. This year, soldiers will be in the streets to prevent any festivities there, said the head of the National Center for the Fight against the Epidemic.
According to the latest WHO figures, Ebola has already killed nearly 6,600 people in West Africa and 18,188 cases have been recorded.
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