MOSCOW, October 22 (RIA Novosti) - The first Briton confirmed to have contracted the Ebola virus, nurse William Pooley, who is now fully recovered says he is delighted to return to Sierra Leone, where he caught the virus, to treat other infected patients.
"I am delighted to be returning to Sierra Leone … the real emergency is in West Africa, and the teams out there need all the support we can give them," Pooley was quoted by the Daily Mail as saying on Wednesday.
The current Ebola epidemic, one of the current global security issues, started in southern Guinea in February and later spread to Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Senegal, with several Ebola cases having been reported outside of West Africa. Last week, the WHO confirmed that the outbreak in Senegal is now over. Earlier this week, Nigeria was also declared Ebola-free.
Over 4,500 people have died from the current Ebola outbreak, with more than 9,000 cases confirmed or suspected, according to the latest WHO estimates.
There is currently no officially approved medication for the disease, but several countries are now working on developing a drug to halt the virus spreading further.
On Tuesday, the WHO confirmed that Ebola vaccine tests on humans will begin in the next two weeks. The clinical trials are expected to take from six months to one year.
