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Ebola kills Liberia doctor despite ZMapp treatment | Ebola kills Liberia doctor despite ZMapp treatment |
(about 1 hour later) | |
A Liberian doctor has died despite taking an experimental anti-Ebola drug, Liberia's information minister says. | A Liberian doctor has died despite taking an experimental anti-Ebola drug, Liberia's information minister says. |
Abraham Borbor was one of three doctors in Liberia who had been given ZMapp and were showing signs of recovery. | Abraham Borbor was one of three doctors in Liberia who had been given ZMapp and were showing signs of recovery. |
ZMapp has been credited with helping several patients recover, including two US doctors. | ZMapp has been credited with helping several patients recover, including two US doctors. |
More than 1,400 people have died from Ebola this year in four West African countries - Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. | More than 1,400 people have died from Ebola this year in four West African countries - Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone. |
Dr Borbor "was showing signs of improvement but yesterday (Sunday) he took a turn for the worse," Liberian Information Minister Lewis Brown told the BBC. | |
"What this means for the drugs, I don't know," the minister added, without giving further details. | |
It is believed Dr Borbor died in the capital Monrovia. He was the deputy chief medical doctor at the country's largest hospital. | |
Liberia has recently imposed a quarantine in parts of Monrovia to try to stop the spread of the virus. | |
Last Thursday, police fired live rounds and tear gas during protests among residents of the city's West Point slum. | |
Liberia has seen the most deaths - more than 570 - in what is now the worst Ebola outbreak in history. | |
UK isolation case | UK isolation case |
In a separate development on Monday, a UK volunteer nurse is being treated at a London hospital after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone - the first confirmed case of a Briton contracting the virus in the current outbreak. | |
William Pooley, 29, returned to the UK on Sunday and is being kept in a special isolation unit. | William Pooley, 29, returned to the UK on Sunday and is being kept in a special isolation unit. |
Supplies of Zmapp are thought to have been used up and he is not currently being treated with the drug. | Supplies of Zmapp are thought to have been used up and he is not currently being treated with the drug. |
However, officials have not ruled the use of Zmapp or similar treatments. | However, officials have not ruled the use of Zmapp or similar treatments. |
His family said he was receiving "excellent care". | |
Meanwhile, Japan said it was ready to allow shipments of an experimental anti-viral drug to help combat the Ebola outbreak. | |
It is not clear whether T-705 (or Avigan) will actually work against Ebola, and no monkey or human trials of the drug have been done, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes in Tokyo reports. | |
T-705 was developed by Japan's Toyama Chemicals company for use against new strains of influenza. It was approved by the Japanese government earlier this year. | |
A company spokesman says the firm believes the similarity between flu viruses and Ebola means Avigan could be effective. | |
Japan says it is ready to ship Avigan even without approval by the World Health Organization. | |
Prison term warning | |
Ebola is spread between humans through direct contact with infected body fluids and several doctors and health workers have died. | Ebola is spread between humans through direct contact with infected body fluids and several doctors and health workers have died. |
It is one of the world's deadliest diseases, with up to 90% of cases resulting in death, although in the current outbreak the rate is about 55%. | It is one of the world's deadliest diseases, with up to 90% of cases resulting in death, although in the current outbreak the rate is about 55%. |
The speed and extent of the outbreak was "unprecedented", the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week. | The speed and extent of the outbreak was "unprecedented", the World Health Organization (WHO) said last week. |
An estimated 2,615 people in West Africa have been infected with Ebola since March. | An estimated 2,615 people in West Africa have been infected with Ebola since March. |
On Saturday, Sierra Leone's parliament passed a new law making it a criminal offence to hide Ebola patients. | On Saturday, Sierra Leone's parliament passed a new law making it a criminal offence to hide Ebola patients. |
If approved by the president, those caught face up to two years in prison. | If approved by the president, those caught face up to two years in prison. |
Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) | Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) |