--- title: WHO Endorses Use of Experimental Ebola Drug description: The World Health Organization approved the use of experimental drugs on Ebola patients as the death toll from the outbreak surpassed 1,000 canonical: https://time.com/3103223/world-health-organization-ebola-africa/ author: Dan Kedmey article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-12T12:20:21.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:00:55.101Z article:section: Health og:title: WHO Endorses Use of Experimental Ebola Drug og:description: The World Health Organization approved the use of experimental drugs on Ebola patients as the death toll from the outbreak surpassed 1,000 og:url: https://time.com/3103223/world-health-organization-ebola-africa/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt240b945bfc6fb464/69869f27cd6848f6ab096043/453327800.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3499 og:image:height: 1968 og:image:alt: SWITZERLAND-HEALTH-EBOLA-WAFRICA-WHO og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: WHO Endorses Use of Experimental Ebola Drug twitter:description: The World Health Organization approved the use of experimental drugs on Ebola patients as the death toll from the outbreak surpassed 1,000 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt240b945bfc6fb464/69869f27cd6848f6ab096043/453327800.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # WHO Endorses Use of Experimental Ebola Drugs > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: Ebola: The Deadly Virus Outbreak Explained [Watch (HLS stream): Ebola: The Deadly Virus Outbreak Explained](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/oB7TO3G5.m3u8) (1:36)  _Published 2014-07-29. A look at the numbers behind the largest ebola outbreak on record, which has killed 670 people thus far._  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 12, 2014 12:20 PM UTC  World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan with assistant director-general for health security Keiji Fukuda on Aug. 8, 2014 in Geneva. World Health Organization Director-General Dr. Margaret Chan with assistant director-general for health security Keiji Fukuda on Aug. 8, 2014 in Geneva. Alain Grosclaude—AFP/Getty Images  by [Dan Kedmey](https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Aug 12, 2014 12:20 PM UTC The World Health Organization [endorsed](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/statements/2014/ebola-ethical-review-summary/en/) the use of untested experimental drugs for Ebola patients on Tuesday, hours after a Spanish priest died of the virus and the outbreak’s death toll in West Africa passed 1,000. An ethics panel ruled that the drugs, which have not yet passed clinical trials but have shown early promise in combating the virus, could provide a “potent asset” in the battle to contain the epidemic, which it called the “most severe and most complex outbreak of Ebola virus disease in history.” “In the particular circumstances of this outbreak, and provided certain conditions are met, the panel reached consensus that it is ethical to offer unproven interventions with as yet unknown efficacy and adverse effects, as potential treatment or prevention,” members of the panel said in a statement. The experimental drug ZMapp has been [administered](http://time.com/3099899/ebola-west-africa-msf-international-assistance/?utm%5Fsource=feedburner&utm%5Fmedium=feed&utm%5Fcampaign=Feed:%20time/topstories%20%28TIME:%20Top%20Stories%29) to two American patients, who are receiving specialized care at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, and had been obtained for a Spanish priest who died in a Madrid hospital on Tuesday, the New York _Times_ [reports](http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/13/world/africa/ebola.html?%5Fr=0). The death of Father Miguel Pajares, 75, who was evacuated from Liberia last week, marks the first Ebola-related one to occur on European soil in this outbreak. Hospital officials did not say whether Pajares had been treated with the experimental drug, the _Times_ added. WHO officials said the experimental drugs should only be given after the patient has been fully informed of the risks and freely chooses to undergo the treatment. It also declared that sharing results of the treatment was a “moral obligation” for health workers in the field. ## Transcript The Ebola virus is highly contagious and one of the deadliest viruses in the world. A current outbreak is raging in the three West African states of Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea. The outbreak, which has killed over 670. People is the largest Ebola outbreak on record. It won't be considered over until no new confirmed cases appear for 42 days. There have been at least 1, 093 confirmed, probable, and suspected cases of Ebola in the current outbreak. Humans contract the virus from infected animals or other humans through contact with bodily fluids. Typically, the virus kills around 90 % of those who are infected. But thanks to early treatment, the number has dropped to 60 % in the current outbreak. Because it can take between 2 and 21 days for symptoms to show, health officials suggest keeping a 21 day fever watch. In addition to fever, other symptoms are headaches, joint pain, lack of appetite, difficulty breathing, and sore throat. In later stages, Ebola causes diarrhea, vomiting, and internal bleeding. Though it's been almost 40 years since the disease was first discovered in 1976, the grim reality is that there are currently no cures or effective treatments for the virus. 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